keen, led 1st furlong, tracked leader after, shaken up over 1f out, led inside final furlong pushed out
pulled hard, led after 1f, ridden 2f out, headed inside final furlong, stayed on well (hand timed)
keen, held up in rear, ridden over 2f out no impression
in touch, ridden 2f out, kept on one pace final furlong hand time
Just the four runners but an interesting contest that looks set to go Wilko, with the market probably proving the best guide to the chances of the other three runners. The selection, who is a course winner, finished second to the current 2004 2,000 Guineas favourite, Shamardal, in the Richmond Stakes at Goodwood seven days ago. Before that he was third in the Group 3 Superlative Stakes and third in Royal Ascot's Chesham Stakes. In fairness, he is likely to be a very short price to score here, which would be a fully justifiable position. Turning to his opponents. Lingarri is trained by Sir Michael Stoute and is by Indian Ridge out of a mare that won from 10 to 12 furlongs. While the form of Zabeel Palace's debut has worked out pretty well, he never got into things at Thirsk last time. Similarly, the form of the quite well-bred Shrine Mountain's debut effort - when a close sixth to Camacho - looks fair enough. However, Wilko has competed against the big guns this year and should be able to outgun his rivals today.
