chased leaders, ridden 4f out, weakened quickly 2f out
held up towards rear, effort 2f out, one pace under pressure
held up towards rear, pushed along 3f out, one pace, never near leaders
held up in rear, badly hampered on outside rail 3f out, soon switched right, not much room inside final 2f, switched left wide outside, edged left just inside final furlong, ran on to
led to 3f out, soon weakened
held up in rear, headway inside final 2f, chased leading pair inside final furlong until lost 3rd well inside final furlong
tracked leader to 8f out, stayed prominent, led briefly inside final 2f, every chance over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
slowly into stride, pulled way up to track leader after 2f, led 3f out, headed inside final 2f, weakened
took keen hold, close up, ridden to challenge 2f out, led inside final 2f, driven final furlong, held on gamely when pressed near finish
close up, effort on wide outside 2f out, ridden to chase winner over 1f out, stayed on strongly under pressure near finish, just held
held up, effort 2f out, soon weakened
held up, edged left 3f out, kept on but never dangerous
Rakti returned to action with a smooth success in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes at the royal meeting and the Michael Jarvis-trained colt is hard to oppose in a race where the main dangers look to be Ikhtyar and Refuse To Bend. The last mentioned bounced back to winning ways when landing the Queen Anne Stakes over a mile and, if Godolphin's colt can reproduce the form over this longer trip, he has to be respected. However, the son of Sadler's Wells has always failed to deliver when tackling further than a mile and he is hard to recommend with any confidence. Richard Hills has been talking up the claims of Ikhtyar all week but, along with Aidan O'Brien's Powerscourt, he has plenty to find with the selection on Ascot form. David Elsworth's Salford City is the only three-year-old in the line up and the 2,000 Guineas sixth and Derby fifth cannot be discounted completely in a race where the classic generation have a good record. Stablemate Norse Dancer deserves to win a decent prize but may again have to settle for a minor role, while proven Group 1 horse Warrsan would ideally want further. Sir Michael Stoute's Kalaman is improving and hails from a stable that could not be in better form right now but Rakti is a classy performer and should be too good for his rivals today.
