with leader, led halfway, ridden 1f out, soon pressed, held on gamely towards finish (hand timed)
tracked leaders in 3rd, outpaced halfway, soon dropped to 3rd place, kept on to regain 3rd place inside final furlong
led to halfway, remained close up, ridden over 1f out, every chance inside final furlong, just held
in rear and in touch, went 3rd place halfway, ridden over 1f out, weakened and lost 3rd place inside final furlong
Mister Marc sets the standard with his second to Dawn Approach at Naas in June before showing good pace for a long way in the Norfolk Stakes. This is just a question of whether the debut winners can improve past him. Flyman looked a really smart prospect when scoring at York and looks certain to go on to better things as does Odooj, who has been given a break since his victory at Chester in May. The latter race hasn't worked out brilliantly however unlike the form of EXCEPTIONELLE's debut success on Polytrack at Kempton. Four subsequent winners followed her home that day and with her allowance likely to prove crucial she is taken to remain unbeaten in an interesting little race.
Flyman 15-8fav (9-3) Made virtually all, ridden and hung left inside final furlong, stayed on, ridden out, won at York 5f 2yo mdn (3) gs in Jun beating Tanghan (9-3) by 1 1/4l, 11 ran.
Mister Marc (IRE) 7-1 (9-1) Raced far side, chased leader in group until over 3f out, stayed well there until ridden and weakened over 1f out, 8th of 11, 8l behind Reckless Abandon (9-1) at Royal Ascot 5f 2yo Grp 2 (1) gs in Jun.
Odooj (IRE) 11-4 (9-3) In touch, headway and switched left over 1f, soon chased leader, led entering final furlong, ridden and ran on, won at Chester 6f 2yo mdn (4) gf in May beating Mandy Lexi (8-12) by 2 3/4l, 5 ran.
Exceptionelle 9-4fav (9-0) Tracked leaders going strongly, challenged over 1f out, led inside final furlong, ran on well, won at Kempton 6f 2yo mdn fll (5) pol in Jun beating Sugar House (9-0) by 1 1/4l, 10 ran.
