slowly away, in last pair, ridden on outside 3f out, driven and beaten over 2f out
tracked leading pair, went 2nd over 2f out, ridden and chance over 1f out, weakened final 110 yards
went left start, chased leading trio, pushed along over 3f out, weakened over 2f out
chased leader until over 2f out, soon bumped and weakened
took keen hold, tracked leading quartet, smooth headway and squeezed through over 2f out, chased leading pair 2f out, upsides inside final furlong, led on line in driving finish
led, set strong pace until steadied 6f out, ridden over 1f out, strongly pressed inside final furlong, kept on gamely until headed on line in driving finish
held up in last pair, switched left to outer inside final 2f, chased leading pair inside final furlong, strong challenge close home, just held
Placed in a couple of Group races at the end of last season, the three-year-old Dux Scholar has to be of interest on his reappearance. Winning handicapper Al Khaleej steps up in class for his return to action and the progressive Boom And Bust takes on higher rated rivals after a hat-trick of handicap victories. Balducci and Caymans are proving hard to win with nowadays, but The Rectifier won this last year and has a leading chance again. However, the newly-gelded NATIONALISM belied his big price to finish a close-up fourth in the Group 3 Diomed Stakes at Epsom on his comeback and looks up to winning at this level with improvement likely.
Al Khaleej (IRE) 7-1 (8-13) Held up towards rear far side group, headway over 1f out, one pace, 5th of 10, 5l behind Capponi (8-9) at Doncaster 1m hcp 0-110 (2) gd in Sep.
Balducci 25-1 (8-13) Took keen hold, chased leader, until over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 9th of 14, 15l behind Beachfire (8-9) at Royal Ascot 1m 2f listed hcp 0-110 (1) gs.
Boom And Bust (IRE) 4-1fav (9-6) Tracked leaders, ridden to challenge over 2f out, led over 1f out, edged right, ran on well, won at Redcar 1m hcp 0-95 (3) gf beating Just Bond (9-5) by 2 1/4l, 12 ran.
Caymans (AUS) 8-1 (8-13) 11th of 12, 8l behind Rileyskeepingfaith (8-13) at Meydan(UAE) 1m Grp 2 (1) gd in Mar.
Nationalism 16-1 (9-4) Took keen hold, held up in 6th, ridden on outside 2f out, ridden and edged left over 1f out, strong run inside final furlong, going on close home, almost snatched 3rd, 4th of 8, 1 3/4l behind Fanunalter (9-4) at Epsom Downs 1m Grp 3 (1) gf.
The Rectifier (USA) 9-1 (9-7) Tracked leader, ridden to challenge over 2f out, soon outpaced, kept on under pressure inside final furlong, never reached winner, 2nd of 6, 1 1/4l behind Set The Trend (9-7) at Goodwood 1m Listed stks 3yo (1) gf in May.
Dux Scholar 7-2fav (8-12) Held up, headway over 2f out, challenged and edged left 1f out, ridden to lead inside final furlong, ran on, headed post, 2nd of 10, ns behind Klammer (8-12) at Newbury 7f 2yo Grp 3 (1) gs in Oct.
