tracked leaders, effort over 2f out, weakened well over 1f out
chased leaders, ridden to challenge over 2f out, kept on same pace final furlong
held up in touch, weakened over 2f out
held up, headway over 1f out, every chance entering final furlong, stayed on
chased leaders, ridden halfway, soon beaten
held up, switched left and headway over 1f out, stayed on well to lead near finish
held up and well behind, headway over 2f out, led over 1f out, headed and not run on well inside final furlong
held up, headway over 1f out, kept on same pace final furlong
led, ridden and headed 3f out, soon weakened
tracked leaders, ridden and effort over 3f out, weakened over 1f out
prominent, led 3f out, headed approaching final furlong, faded
Aidan O'Brien has endured a torrid time of things by his standards this season when he has launched raids on British prize-money, but Troubadour can redress the balance today; with the lightly raced pair, Funfair and Desert Star possibly set to give him the most to do. That is not to dismiss the challenge presented by the admirably tough Checkit, who can usually be relied upon to give his all and he will surely go down fighting if he runs his usual race. Attune is another to throw into the mix, as she is really on a roll after landing a valuable handicap at Newmarket in July along with a brace of fillies only events earlier this month. The daughter of Singspiel faces a much stiffer test against the colts today though, and she will do extremely well to extend her unbeaten run in this company. Shot To Fame and Salselon are closely matched on their Ascot encounter from earlier this term, where the former just showed the more resilience to come out on top on that occasion. However, he picks up a 3lb penalty for that Group-Three success and others make more appeal on these terms. Polar Bear and Tout Seul are a couple of others that are hard to split on the best of their recent form and are worth monitoring for each-way support. The latter has lost some his sparkle this season though, and looks a shade of the horse that won the Dewhurst in 2002. Polar Bear has gone well at this track in the past and is better than his last run would have you believe. The pick of last season's efforts brings him right into the equation today and a positive more for him in the betting will be dangerous to ignore. The Amanda Perrett-trained Funfair is hard to weigh up, as he has only raced once since switching to his current yard. A crack at the Cambridgeshire had been mentioned for him and it is slightly surprising that he takes his chance here in this instead. The fact that he missed last week's engagement at Ascot is a little disconcerting and it may be prudent to monitor the vibes surrounding him before getting involved financially today. Desert Star is a lightly raced type that is very closely matched with Perett's charge and has to be considered as a big threat to them all. Sir Michael Stoute has left himself with plenty of horse to work with, after a good six-furlong blow out on the gallops on Wednesday, he should be primed and ready to go today. The Green Desert colt could be worth a saver if the prices permit a couple of bases to be covered. However, it is the race fitness of Troubadour that swings the vote in his favour and, as there looks sure to be a strong pace from the outset, the Danehill colt has plenty in his favour as he bids to put his 3lb weigh-for-age allowance to good use.
