prominent, driven along over 2f out, soon beaten
towards rear, headway on inner over 2f out, ridden and one pace final furlong
mid-division, headway 3f out, ridden over 1f out and stayed on same pace
never better than mid-division
in touch, pushed along over 3f out, ridden when weakening over 1f out
prominent, led over 2f out, ridden and headed over 1f out, one pace final furlong
slowly into stride and behind, pushed along and headway over 2f out, ran on to lead inside final furlong, kept on
led, headed over 2f out, soon beaten
mid-division, headway over 2f out, ridden and one pace final furlong
slowly into stride, always behind
in touch, ridden to lead over 1f out, kept on until headed inside final furlong, no extra close home
towards rear, pushed along over 3f out, some late headway, never near to challenege
mid-division, effort over 2f out, soon behind
mid-division, effort over 2f out, no impression
towards rear, headway on outer 3f out, ridden and edged left when weakening final furlong
prominent, ridden over 1f out, no extra final furlong
As you would expect for the money, this is very competitive, with among those being considered were Woodcracker, Blythe Knight, Dunaskin, Flamboyant Lad, Nero's Return and Rehearsal, but the vote goes to Impeller. We are hopeful of a good run from Impeller, who did us a good turn when scoring at Epsom on Wednesday and who remains competitively weighted. Woodcracker was well fancied for the John Smith's Cup last time but ran no sort of race. However, we would not recommend giving up on him just yet. With his stable in good form, Shot To Fame, who won a Group 3 event last season, can be considered, while Blythe Knight commands plenty of respect if being able to run to the best of his form of the last 15 months. Red Lancer has been competing pretty well from around today's mark, but Dunaskin will have to defy a 15-pounds higher mark in order to repeat his win in this race last year, but has clearly been trained with this race in mind. First-time blinkers could yet help the highly-promising Flamboyant Lad, so his chance is respected, but Courageous Duke can't quite get his head in front from his revised mark, although Kieren Fallon is in the plate. Rehearsal's third to Notable Guest at Royal Ascot at York last time brings him firmly into the equation, while Eccentric often goes well in the hurly-burly of these types of events. Nero's Return comes here in pretty good heart and remains competitively weighted, while it would be no surprise to see Solo Flight keep on for some place money. Finally, so long as the going is not on the fast side, Maraakeb might yet be able to build on what he has so far achieved. Overall, though, the vote stays with Impeller. Flamboyant Lad held every chance but he could only run on at one pace and he looks in the handicappers grip now.
Shot To Fame (USA) 50-1 (9-3) Tracked leaders, effort over 2f out, unable to quicken and soon weakened, 8th of 10, 5l behind Welcome Stranger (9-3) at Newbury 1m 2f lst stk (1) gf in Jul.
Blythe Knight (IRE) 12-1 (9-13) Tracked leaders, not clear run from 2f out, switched right over 1f out, carried head high, not run on, 4th of 11, 3 1/2l behind Star of Light (8-8) at Newbury 1m 2f hcp (2) gf in Jul.
Red Lancer 50-1 (9-2) Held up, ridden over 3f out, soon beaten, last of 4, 10l behind Imperial Stride (9-2) at Ayr 1m 2f Grp 2 (1) gf in Jul.
Woodcracker 6-1 (9-4) Never better than mid-division, 17th of 21, 21l behind Mullins Bay (9-7) at York 1m 2f hcp 0-110 (2) gd in Jul.
Dunaskin (IRE) 14-1 (9-3) Pushed along to chase leaders, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 2f out, last of 15, 15l behind Zeitgeist (8-10) at Haydock 1m 4f hcp (2) gf in Jul.
Flamboyant Lad 9-2jt-fav (9-0) Led for 2f, chased leaders, ridden and weakened 2f out, 11th of 15, 11l behind Zeitgeist (8-10) at Haydock 1m 4f hcp (2) gf in Jul.
Courageous Duke (USA) 6-1 (9-6) Switched left soon after start, settled towards rear, not clear run from 3f out to 2f out, ran on inside final furlong, not reach winner, 2nd of 11, 1 1/2l behind Star of Light (8-8) at Newbury 1m 2f hcp (2) gf in Jul.
Thyolo (IRE) 11-4 (9-3) Took keen hold, tracked winner, ridden well over 2f out, weakened final furlong, 4th of 6, 6l behind Able Baker Charlie (9-3) at Newbury 1m 2f stk 0-95 (2) gs in Jul.
Impeller (IRE) 7-2 (9-12) In touch, smooth headway on outside over 2f out, quickened to lead over 1f out, soon clear, readily, won at Epsom 1m 1f hcp (3) gd beating Miss Pebbles (8-6) by 1 1/2l, 7 ran.
Balyan (IRE) 11-1 (8-8) In touch, lost place over 3f out, soon weakened, tailed off final furlong, last of 20, 47l behind Sergeant Cecil (8-8) at Newcastle 2m hcp (2) gd in Jun.
Rehearsal 33-1 (9-0) Keen, mid-division, headway over 3f out, ridden over 2f out, one pace final furlong, 3rd of 16, 3l behind Notable Guest (9-8) at York 1m 4f hcp 0-105 (2) gf in Jun.
Eccentric 12-1 (8-9) Led for 1f, tracked leader after, led 3f out to over 1f out, chased winner to just inside final furlong, weakened, 6th of 20, 4l behind Evaluator (8-11) at Goodwood 1m 2f hcp (2) gs in Jul.
Nero's Return (IRE) 15-2 (8-3) Slowly into stride, effort on outer over 2f out, never reached leaders, 12th of 18, 6l behind Unshakable (8-1) at Goodwood 1m hcp (2) gs in Jul.
Solo Flight 12-1 (9-1) In rear, headway from 3f out, stayed on from over 1f out, not trouble leaders, 6th of 11, 4 1/2l behind Star of Light (8-8) at Newbury 1m 2f hcp (2) gf in Jul.
Middlemarch (IRE) 12-1 (9-11) Tracked leader, ridden over 3f out, soon one pace, 5th of 7, 6l behind Sound Breeze (8-9) at Ayr 1m hcp (3) gf in Jul.
Maraakeb (FR) 6-1 (9-8) Held up, not much room after 1f, smooth headway 3f out, every chance well over 1f out, kept on same pace, 4th of 13, 5l behind Bay Story (9-1) at Newbury 1m 4f hcp (3) gf in Jul.
Go Tech 20-1 (9-0) Mid-division, ridden over 3f out, weakened 2f out, 8th of 11, 8l behind Star of Light (8-8) at Newbury 1m 2f hcp (2) gf in Jul.
