with leader, effort and chance 2f out, one pace final furlong
missed break, held up in rear, headway under pressure 2f out, weakened final furlong
led, ridden over 2f out, headed over 1f out, one pace final furlong
held up in touch, ridden and headway 2f out, led over 1f out, clear final furlong
in touch, pushed along 2f out, ridden and effort approaching final furlong, stayed on to chase winner final furlong
missed break, towards rear, weakened halfway
swerved left start, towards rear, pushed along halfway, no impression
tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
With little public form to go on, a certain amount of guesswork is required here, but Bluebok is sure to know his job and is taken to make a winning debut, with Munaawashat, Distant Times and Fyodor the likely dangers. The latter is a 45,000 guineas son of Fasilyev, and the fact that Kieren Fallon has been booked by Willie Haggas certainly catches the eye, and any market confidence for him on his debut could be significant. Of those with experience, there may not be too much between Mark Johnston's Munaawashat and Tim Easterby's Distant Times. The former shaped well enough when second on her debut at Ripon, while the latter was fourth in the same race, but recovered from a tardy start and could have more scope for improvement. But with David Loder's team having such a good season, Bluebok could easily be good enough to beat them all. A smartly bred Indian Ridge colt, he fetched 150,000 Guineas as a yearling, which makes him the most expensive purchase in the race, and while again the market is likely to prove a reliable guide, he looks the one to beat under Jamie Spencer.
