took keen hold, tracked leading pair, went 2nd over 3f out, led over 2f out, ridden and headed over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
pulled hard, reluctant leader 2f, settled 2nd, led again over 3f out, headed over 2f out, chased leader until 2f out, weakened inside final furlong
held up in 7th, switched left and bumped 2f out, no progress, weakened and eased over 1f out
tracked leading trio, headway to 3rd approaching final 3f, went 2nd 2f out, soon challenging, ridden to lead over 1f out, strongly pressed and stayed on gamely under pressure final 100 yards, headed post
held up in 8th, headway on outside 2f out, went 3rd inside final furlong, no impression on leading duo, lost 3rd last strides
started slowly, headway to lead 10f out, headed and weakened rapidly over 3f out, tailed off and eased
held up in last pair, headway towards inside over 1f out, stayed on at same pace to 5th final 100 yards, no impression
held up last, headway under strong pressure and hung right entering final 2f, hard driven and went 3rd inside final furlong, no chance with leading duo
took keen hold, held up disputing close 4th, headway and switched left 2f out, ridden to chase leader 1f out, sustained challenge final 100 yards, stayed on gamely under pressure to lead post
pulled hard, raced wide, held up in 5th, ridden and weakened 2f out
Nathaniel attempts to post back-to-back successes in this prestigious event and though he does not enjoy the weight-for-age allowance that he had last year, John Gosden's colt arrives on the back of a tenacious victory in the Eclipse. Sea Moon and Dunaden met in the Hardwicke Stakes last month with the former coming out on top and connections of the latter have flown Craig Williams over from Australia to attempt a reversal. Masked Marvel and Brown Panther, first and second in last year's St Leger, have been ignored in the betting after patchy seasons so far; whilst Arc winner Danedream, Prix Niel protagonist Reliable Man and Japanese Derby victor, Deep Brillante, ensure it's a truly global affair. Aidan O'Brien has won this three times in the past and will be hoping that ST NICHOLAS ABBEY can add to that tally. Despite winning two Coronation Cups and a Breeders' Cup Turf in the last 18 months, he's never quite captured the imagination of the public in the manner that some of his more illustrious stablemates have, but that could change here. This is undoubtedly a tougher assignment than he faced at Epsom last time but were he to arrive in the same frame of mind, it would take a very good horse to beat him.
Brown Panther 85-40 (9-1) Took keen hold, tracked leader, led over 3f out, clear 2f out, pushed along and stayed on strongly, won at Pontefract 1m 4f Listed Stakes (4yo+) (1) sft in Jun beating Lost In The Moment (9-1) by 7l, 4 ran.
Dunaden (FR) 9-2 (9-0) Tracked leaders, lost place and not much room 3f out, soon outpaced, headway under pressure when not clear run over 1f out, ridden and stayed on to go 2nd final 100 yards, never reached winner, 2nd of 12, 3 1/2l behind Sea Moon (9-0) at Royal Ascot 1m 4f Grp 2 (1) gd in Jun.
Masked Marvel 8-1 (9-0) Tracked clear leader, closed 4f out, led entering final 3f, ridden and headed 2f out, chased winner but no chance, outpaced to 3rd inside final furlong, 3rd of 6, 8l behind St Nicholas Abbey (9-0) at Epsom Downs 1m 4f Grp 1 (1) gf in Jun.
Nathaniel (IRE) 7-2 (9-7) Soon led, headed over 9f out, tracked leader, led over 3f out, ridden over 2f out, strongly pressed entering final furlong, ran on well and in command towards finish, won at Sandown 1m 2f Grp 1 (1) gs beating Farhh (9-7) by 1/2l, 9 ran.
Reliable Man 12-1 (9-0) Held up in rear, headway on wide outside over 1f out, stayed on inside final furlong, going on close home, never any chance with winner, 4th of 11, 3l behind So You Think (9-0) at Royal Ascot 1m 2f Grp 1 (1) gd in Jun.
Robin Hood (IRE) 200-1 (9-0) Led and set good pace, pushed along to maintain strong tempo halfway, headed over 2f out, soon lost place, eased, tailed off, last of 11, 36l behind So You Think (9-0) at Royal Ascot 1m 2f Grp 1 (1) gd in Jun.
Sea Moon 3-1fav (9-0) Held up mid-division, driven and headway over 2f out, led just inside final 2f, ridden clear over 1f out, well in command final furlong, won at Royal Ascot 1m 4f Grp 2 (1) gd in Jun beating Dunaden (9-0) by 3 1/2l, 12 ran.
St Nicholas Abbey (IRE) 8-11fav (9-0) Held up in last pair, smooth headway on outside 4f out, went 2nd on bit over 2f out, led 2f out, shaken up over 1f out, pushed clear and stayed on strongly final furlong, final furlong impressive, won at Epsom Downs 1m 4f Grp 1 (1) gf in Jun beating Red Cadeaux (9-0) by 4 1/2l, 6 ran.
Danedream (GER) 4-5fav (8-12) last of 4, 2 3/4l behind Meandre (9-2) at Saint-Cloud(FR) 1m 4f Grp 1 (1) gs in Jun.
Deep Brillante (JPN) (8-13) won at Tokyo(JPN) 1m 4f 3yo Grp 1 (1) fm in May beating Fenomeno (8-13) by ns, 18 ran.
