chased leaders, ridden to join leader over 1f out, edged left inside final furlong, no extra near finish
tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
slowly into stride, headway over 3f out, chased leaders and ridden over 2f out, outpaced and unbalanced over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong
prominent, ridden over 2f out, one pace from over 1f out
chased leader, ridden and every chance 2f out, weakened inside final furlong
led, ridden and joined over 1f out, driven, caught post
keen, tracked leaders, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 2f out
mid-division, ridden over 3f out, not trouble leaders
keen, held up in rear, ridden and headway over 1f out, stayed on to lead post
slowly into stride, always in rear, ridden halfway, virtually pulled up final 2f
keen, held up mid-division, ridden over 2f, soon weakened
keen, held up in rear, switched and headway over 1f out, every chance inside final furlong, not quicken near finish
A difficult race to fathom may go to Russian Epic ahead of Chunky's Choice and Novikov. With improvement expected from those to have raced, and a few nice newcomers on breeding also in the line-up, finding the winner is no easy task, and the first thing to note should be the betting market. However, with the Michael Jarvis team in fair form, we lean towards Russian Epic. His sire Diktat managed to win twice on soft ground, and he is sure to come on for his debut at Windsor just less than three weeks ago when not beaten too far in seventh place. That was on much faster ground, and under today's prevailing conditions, the drop back to a mile could be a wise move by connections. Chunky's Choice has encountered similar going to today's on both visits to headquarters but has yet to blossom. This will be his third outing here though and he must surely improve, while Novikov was a disappointing last of 13 behind stablemate Pipedreamer at Goodwood and can only get better as most of John Gosden's do. A pin would come in handy but Russian Epic is lumbered with the vote.
Axiom Pivotal colt out of 1m2f winner Exhibitor.
Chunky's Choice (IRE) 20-1 (9-0) Chased leaders, ridden and weakened over 1f out, 10th of 19, 6l behind Mr Napper Tandy (9-0) at Newmarket 7f 2yo mdn (5) sft in Oct.
Hot Diamond Desert Prince gelding out of 1m2f winner Panna.
Novikov 20-1 (9-0) Slowly away, always in rear, last of 13, 16l behind Pipedreamer (9-0) at Goodwood 1m mdn stk (5) gd.
Pagan Belief Fraam gelding out of a lightly-raced mare.
Russian Epic 4-1 (9-3) Led to 7f out, stayed close up, on left bend over 5f out, hung left under pressure and no impression on leaders final 2f, 7th of 12, 8l behind Dansant (9-3) at Windsor 1m 2f 3yo mdn (5) gf in Apr.
Super Nebula 100-1 (9-3) Always in rear, 10th of 12, 19l behind Dream Lodge (9-3) at W'hampton 7f 2yo mdn (4) pol in Oct.
Zachary Scott 12-1 (9-3) Dwelt and soon prominent, ridden along 3f out, weakened final furlong, 7th of 9, 15l behind El Dececy (9-3) at Pontefract 1m 2f 3yo mdn (5) gf.
Champfleurie Efisio filly, sister to winning sprinter Je Suis Belle.
Formidable Guest Dilshaan filly out of winning sprinter Fizzy Treat.
Navene (IRE) Desert Style filly out of an unraced mare.
Trivia (IRE) 100-1 (9-0) Slowly into stride, always in rear, 11th of 14, 10l behind Yaqeen (9-0) at Newmarket 7f 3yo mdn fll (4) gf in Apr.
Montrachet 100-1 (9-0) Slowly into stride, always rear, last of 15, 25l behind Folk Opera (9-0) at Newbury 1m 2f 3yo mdn fll (4) gf in Apr.
