chased leaders, ridden over2 furlong out, no extra approaching final furlong, no chance final furlong
tracked leader, led over 2f out, hard ridden and headed over 1f out, weakened
held up, chased leaders over 2f out, soon one pace and beaten over 1f out
led at good pace, ridden and headed over 2f out, weakened quickly, tailed off over 1f out
held up behind on outside, ridden 3f out, headway to lead over 1f out, hard ridden and headed well inside final furlong
took keen hold, held up 3rd, ridden over 2f out, not quicken, soon behind
held up in rear, ridden along 3f out, not clear run inside final 2f on rails, switched right, strong run to lead well inside final furlong, readily
It is hard to oppose last year's winner, Nayyir, as he bids to get himself back on track after a cracking effort in the Sussex Stakes over course and distance last month. And he is selected in preference to Chic and Court Masterpiece, who are both worth a try in this grade and will be live to any weaknesses in the selection's game plan. So too will Brunel, who has fewer miles on the clock than most of these and comes here with a live chance if he can only slightly better his St James' Palace stakes form. A lack of experience of the track could be his undoing in this company though and he may be frustratingly short of the mark for his supporters today. Naahay and Passing Glance are also opposable, as they may do for each other if they get in to a protracted dual for the early lead on this testing ground, while Hurricane Allan is closely matched with the last mentioned horse and his penalty for winning a Group 2 at Sandown does nothing to bolster his claims. Court Masterpiece, who has overcome training problems, delivered on the promise he showed last year by winning the International Stakes at Ascot in July. He is also a previous course and distance winner that deserves another crack at a Group-race prize now that he is fully race fit. However, he has a little to find on some of his past form and he is reluctantly passed over. The fact that Kieren Fallon teams up with Chic will be enough for many to give the Machiavellian filly the benefit of the doubt as she takes on the colts once more. The four-year-old has yet to conclusively prove herself at this level though and her fillies allowance may not be enough for her to see off the challenge of our hope. Nayyir has been targeted at this race all season and did nothing to dent his claims by chasing home Soviet Song over c&d only a month ago. The underfoot conditions do not present him with as many problems as most of the rest, and everything looks to have fallen into place at the right time for him to land this valuable contest for the second year in succession.
