slowly into stride, held up, ridden and weakened over 2f out
went left start, soon tracked leaders, joined leader over 6f out, ridden and every chance from over 1f out, led inside final furlong and ridden out
tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, kept on same pace
held up, headway over 2f out, hung left and weakened inside final furlong
held up, ridden over 3f out, no impression
pulled hard, tracked leaders, went left after 1f, ridden and effort over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
slowly into stride, in rear, some headway over 4f out, ridden and weakened over 2f out, soon tailed off
held up, not much room after 1f, ridden over 2f out, effort over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong
chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
soon led, ridden and hung left from over 1f out, headed well inside final furlong, stayed on
slowly into stride, always in rear
close up, hampered after 1f, ridden 3f out, weakened well over 1f out
From our shortlist that contains Highland Diva, Elraawy, Mont Saint Michel and Top The Charts, we will side with Highland Diva. The market will provide some big clues here but we will take the chance on Highland Diva, who is by Selkirk and from the same family as Prince Of Dance and Sun Princess, and she showed plenty of promise on her sole start to date and, even though that race has not worked out that well, she has to be very high on the shortlist of possibles for this contest. It is hard to get enthusiastic about most of these but at least Elraawy showed promise behind Bahaar Shumaal at Sandown last time, and the fifth from that race has won since. Finalmente has a middle distance pedigree, while John Gosden's Climate Change showed little on his debut. Jamaar is very well-bred, but she will need to step up markedly on her sole start to date, although, as we say, this is not a strong affair. An obvious contender, though, is Mont Saint Michel, who has shown form that equates to around the mid-70s mark, which is more than enough to be competitive tonight, while Top The Charts' form can be rated slightly higher and he looks primed to go close. Overall, then, unless the betting tells a different story, we will side with Highland Diva.
Climate Change (USA) 10-1 (9-0) Slowly into stride, soon in touch, ridden 3f out, soon weakened, 12th of 15, 46l behind Descartes (9-0) at Newbury 1m 2yo mdn (D2) sft in Oct.
Country Pursuit (USA) 40-1 (9-0) Mid-division, ridden over 2f out, one pace, 4th of 10, 9l behind Dansili Dancer (9-0) at Goodwood 1m 3yo mdn (5) gd.
Elraawy (USA) 16-1 (8-10) In touch, ridden and ran green 2f out, no danger after, 6th of 11, 7l behind Bahar Shumaal (8-10) at Sandown 1m 2f mdn stk (5) gf in May.
Jamaar 20-1 (9-0) Slowly into stride, in rear and soon pushed along, never a danger, 8th of 11, 11l behind Front Stage (9-0) at Lingfield 1m 3yo mdn (5) pol.
Kabis Amigos 16-1 (9-0) Tracked stands' side leaders, ridden halfway, soon struggling, 9th of 16, 20l behind Spear Thistle (9-0) at Newbury 1m 2yo mdn (D2) sft in Oct.
Mont Saint Michel (IRE) 9-4fav (9-0) Soon tracked winner until 2f out, ridden, soon weakened, 4th of 16, 11l behind Mr Vegas (9-0) at Leicester 1m 4f 3yo mdn (5) sft in May.
Top The Charts 7-2 (9-0) Raced wide in mid-division, ridden 3f out, not pace to challenge, kept on well inside final furlong, 5th of 14, 1 1/2l behind Cavallini (9-0) at Sandown 1m 2f 3yo mdn (5) gf.
Highland Diva (IRE) 20-1 (8-11) Dwelt, held up and behind on outer, ridden over 3f out, stayed on steadily from over 1f out, nearest finish, 4th of 16, 4l behind Almansoora (8-11) at Salisbury 7f 2yo mdn fll (D2) gd in Sept.
