in touch, hampered 5f out, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
chased leaders over 5f
made all, clear 2f out, unchallenged
slowly into stride, held up ridden over 2f out, kept on from over 1f out, nearest finish
held up mid-division, ridden and headway over 1f out, kept on one pace
slowly into stride, held up, headway over 2f out, stayed on same pace from over 1f out
held up in touch, ridden 2f out, chased winner approaching final furlong, no chance with winner
slowly into stride, soon close up, hampered 5f out, weakened over 2f out
close up, weakened over 2f out
pulled hard, in touch, outpaced 3f out, kept on approaching final furlong, never dangerous
chased leaders, ridden and weakened 3f out
This is a tricky race for punters to call, but Iktitaf, Star Magnitude and Maclean look to be the principles and we will side with the last mentioned. The selection hails from the Sir Michael Stoute yard and showed enough on his debut last season to make him interesting. He finished second behind Boule D'Or on that occasion at Leicester, and with the step up in trip sure to suit here he is put forward as the tentative choice. Star Magnitude could represent the main danger as this well-bred colt from the John Gosden yard looks to be well capable of making a winning racecourse debut, especially if the market vibes are positive. The other Gosden runner Iktitaf appears to be the stable second-string here on jockey bookings, although he is another well-bred colt and it would be no surprise to see him go well. Of the rest, Leg Spinner hails from the Mick Channon yard and as his stable normally do well in these type of events, it would be foolish to ignore this well-bred gelding on his racecourse debut. The market could provide us with all the clues here, but Maclean sets a fair standard for the rest and is put forward as the one to beat.
