took keen hold, pushed along 3f out, ridden over 1f out, no extra final furlong
held up, headway over 2f out, ridden and one paced final furlong
tracked leader, shaken up to lead over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, kept on well final furlong
held up in rear, headway over 2f out, not much room over 1f out, stayed on same pace final furlong
led steady pace, headed over 2f out, ridden and one paced final furlong
An interesting contest featuring a number of potentially smart three-year-olds in opposition but Monsieur Bond should prove hard to beat. Bryan Smart's charge scored twice in minor company before showing a consistent level of form in some of last season's top juvenile contests. The son of Danehill Dancer put up a particularly good effort when a strong finishing runner-up in the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes and was also placed in the valuable Two-Year-Old Trophy at Redcar despite being poorly drawn. Salcombe represents an in-form yard and has to be feared following useful efforts in Pattern company last term while Frankie Dettori makes a rare visit to the Yorkshire track to partner David Loder's Royal Dignitary who remains unexposed and open to plenty of improvement. Arctic desert looked useful when landing an all-weather maiden on his recent comeback but much more is required at this level.
