held up last, headway on outside 2f out, stayed on final furlong
raced freely, dictated pace, made all, quickened tempo 5f out, strongly pressed final 3f, held on gamely near finish
held up, headway to chase leading pair 3f out, no impression when weakened and lost 3rd inside final furlong
tracked winner to over 4f out, weakened 2f out
held up in 7th, ridden 3f out, soon beaten
tracked leaders in 3rd until outpaced and driven along 3f out, stayed on from over 1f out to take 3rd inside final furlong, finished well
held up in 6th, no chance final 2f
held up in 5th, headway over 5f out, chased winner over 4f out, persistent challenge final 3f until no extra and held near finish
raced in 4th, outpaced 3f out, soon beaten
The consistent Sergeant Cecil makes his seasonal reappearance here and Rod Millman's gelding has to be respected but this trip is shorter than is ideal for the eight-year-old and he looks best watched in a race where the vote goes to Maraahel, with Admiral's Cruise rated the best of the rest. The selection was highly tried last term when beginning his campaign in the Dubai World Cup and subsequently proved good enough to win in Group 3 and Group 2 company. Sir Michael Stoute's colt looks more than capable of carrying his penalty and is taken to make a winning return. Geoff Wragg's 11-year-old The Whistling Teal is a capable performer but may have to settle for a minor role along with John Dunlop's consistent Munsef. Brian Meehan's Admiral's Cruise showed progressive form last term and has to be respected but Maraahel has solid claims and he gets the vote.
Sergeant Cecil (9-4) Held up, ran on well from 2f out, 3rd of 10, 1l behind Montare (9-1) at Longchamp 1m 7f Grp 1 (1) gd in Oct.
Maraahel (IRE) (9-0) Missed break, brief effort 2f out, one pace, 5th of 10, 3 1/2l behind Collier Hill (9-0) at Sha Tin 1m 4f Grp 1 (1) gf in Dec.
Admiral's Cruise (USA) 7-1 (9-6) Slowly into stride, soon in touch, driven to challenge 2f out, hung and left and right, outpaced final furlong, 3rd of 9, 6l behind Blue Monday (9-6) at Newbury 1m 3f Grp 3 (1) gd in Sept.
Akarem 25-1 (9-3) In touch, driven along 5f out, soon weakened, 8th of 11, 27l behind Short Skirt (8-10) at Newbury 1m 4f Grp 3 (1) hvy in Oct.
Bulwark (IRE) 9-1 (9-0) Held up, headway over 3f out, soon chasing leaders, every chance when bumped over 1f out, no extra final furlong, 2nd of 7, 6l behind Hawridge Prince (9-0) at Newmarket 2m Grp 3 (1) gs in Oct.
Munsef 13-2 (9-3) Held up, short-lived effort 4f out, soon weakened, 5th of 11, 17l behind Short Skirt (8-10) at Newbury 1m 4f Grp 3 (1) hvy in Oct.
The Whistling Teal 20-1 (9-6) Held up towards rear, driven along and one pace final 2f, 4th of 11, 9l behind Short Skirt (8-10) at Newbury 1m 4f Grp 3 (1) hvy in Oct.
Mighty 10-1 (9-0) Soon prominent, lost place over 5f out, rallied and headway over 1f out, kept on well, 4th of 12, 1/2l behind Gentleman's Deal (9-0) at Lingfield 1m 2f Grp 3 (1) pol in Mar.
Green Room (FR) (8-9) Always close up, 3rd straight, led inside final furlong, ran on, won at San Siro 1m 4f lst stk (A) hvy in Oct beating Penelope Star (8-9) by 2l, 11 ran.
