held up in mid division, lost place and behind 4f out, effort over 2f out, weaved through beaten horses and headway 1f out, ran on final furlong but not reach leaders
held up mid-division, ridden over 2f out, weakened 1f out
chased leader, led after 2f, ridden 3f out, headed 2f out, no extra final furlong
held up last, ridden and switched left 2f out, one pace final furlong
in touch, ridden 2f out, weakened 1f out
led just after 2f, chased leader, led on bit 2f out, soon ridden and 3 lengths clear, hard ridden final furlong, headed final 50 yards
prominent, pushed along over 5f out, ridden over 3f out, stayed on well final furlong, led final 50 yards, readily
With main rival Sharmardal now sadly an absentee, Derby winner Motivator looks to face a straightforward opportunity and is taken to land the Eclipse with Starcraft and Oratorio rated the main dangers. The selection remains unbeaten after impressive displays in the Dante and again at Epsom, when quickening clear two furlongs out to become the most impressive winner of the premier classic for many years. The speed that the son of Montjeu showed there, and previously at York, suggests that the drop back to 1m2f should not be a problem and he is taken to give the members of the Royal Ascot racing Club another memorable day out. In the absence of Shamardal, Neville Callaghan's Hazyview is expected to take the field along but he lacks the class to win this and of more interest may be Oratorio, who failed to stay in the Derby but ran better back over a mile in the St James's Palace Stakes last time. This may prove to be his optimum trip and Aidan O'Brien's colt should not be discounted lightly. Anything that Andre Fabre sends over from France has to be respected but Diamond Green has not won since his two-year-old days, while Italian raider Altieri does not look to be good enough on the balance of his form. A bigger threat is likely to come from Australian horse Starcraft, who is now in the care of Luca Cumani and ran an encouraging debut in this country when third in the Queen Anne Stakes. With improvement anticipated, the son of Soviet Star has to be respected but Motivator sets a very high standard and it will be a surprise if he cannot win his third Group 1 contest.
Altieri (9-2) Prominent, led 1f out, ridden out, won at Capannelle 1m 2f Grp 1 gf in May beating Vol De Nuit (9-2) by 1l, 8 ran.
Diamond Green (FR) 13-10fav (8-12) Held up, headway 2f out, finished fast, 2nd of 7, hd behind Artiste Royal (8-12) at Longchamp 1m 2f stk gd in Jun.
Hazyview 9-4 (9-8) Soon led, ridden and in command final 2f, ran on well, won at Windsor 1m lst stk (1) gd in Jun beating Welcome Stranger (9-3) by 2 1/2l, 6 ran.
Hurricane Alan (IRE) 16-1 (9-0) Towards rear, driven along halfway, never a factor, last of 10, 43l behind Valixir (9-0) at York 1m Grp 1 (1) gf in Jun.
Starcraft (NZ) 7-1 (9-0) In touch and hampered after 100 yards, held up mid-division, headway over 2f out, one pace final furlong, 3rd of 10, 2l behind Valixir (9-0) at York 1m Grp 1 (1) gf in Jun.
Motivator 3-1fav (9-0) Keen early, tracked leaders, went 2nd over 4f out, led on bit just over 2f out, quickened 6 lengths clear 1f out, ridden out impressive, won at Epsom 1m 4f 3yo Grp 1 (1) gd in Jun beating Walk In The Park (9-0) by 5l, 13 ran.
Oratorio (IRE) 13-2 (9-0) Pushed along in mid-division, ridden over 3f out, kept on approaching final furlong, 3rd of 8, 5l behind Shamardal (9-0) at York 1m 3yo Grp 1 (1) gf in Jun.
Shamardal (USA) Will not run due to injury. Has been retired to stud.
