took keen hold, held up, tracking leaders 7f out, eased out left just over 2f out, chased winner over 1f out, soon ridden, no impression inside final furlong, kept on for clear 2nd
took keen hold early, held up, headway on outside over 2f out, led well over 1f out, ridden and edged right final furlong, ran on well, pushed out
took keen hold, tracked leader 2f, prominent, outpaced over 2f out, hung left over 1f out, stayed on to take 3rd inside final furlong, no chance with front pair
led, pushed along and headed 3f out, weakened over 1f out
took keen hold, soon held up in touch on outside, pressing leaders 3f out, slighly impeded 2f out, soon beaten and hung left
prominent, went 2nd 8f out, led 3f out, headed well over 1f out, soon ridden, not pace of leaders, no extra inside final furlong
Nonrunner
WASEET is taken to give the Royal Lodge form a boost in a contest where Chabal has the highest official mark and may well start as favourite as a result but market leaders have a poor recent record. The colt is having his first run for Godolphin having blotted his copybook in the Dewhurst where he raced far too keenly; he had run well enough in the National Stakes prior to that and should have no problem with this trip but it remains to be seen how he has trained on. The suggestion is Waseet who caught the eye behind Simenon on debut before winning his maiden and finishing second to Joshua Tree at Ascot. That form may not be the strongest but it seems significant that John Dunlop was prepared to pitch him in at that level and this looks a suitable starting point for his season. Circumvent could be vulnerable under a penalty whilst Simenon and Bikini Babe may lack the scope of Azmeel who had done everything right prior to a disappointing run in a valuable Irish sales race. There may well have been plausible excuses for the Derby entry who is undoubtedly better than that but we'll take Waseet to come out on top.
Azmeel 2-1fav (9-3) Towards rear, effort on outer in mid-division from 3f out, 11th and no impression from 2f out, 12th of 19, 8l behind Shakespearean (9-3) at Curragh 1m 2yo aut gd in Sep.
Chabal (IRE) 7-2fav (9-1) Prominent, ridden and every chance over 1f out, weakened final furlong, 10th of 15, 8l behind Beethoven (9-1) at Newmarket 7f 2yo Grp 1 (1) gd in Oct.
Simenon (IRE) 9-2 (9-0) Prominent, driven to challenge over 2f out, soon one pace, 3rd of 8, 5l behind Morana (9-0) at Ascot 1m 2yo Grp 3 (1) gs in Oct.
Take It To The Max 9-1 (9-0) Took good hold, led 2f, tracked leader, led over 2f out, ridden and headed just over 1f out, kept challenging, hard driven to lead again near finish, won at Newmarket 1m 2f 2yo stk (2) gd in Oct beating Anhar (9-0) by shd, 6 ran.
Waseet 6-1 (8-12) Mid-division, not clear run and lost place over 2f out, headway and edged right over 1f out, ran on to take 2nd inside final furlong, not trouble winner, 2nd of 10, 1 1/4l behind Joshua Tree (8-12) at Ascot 1m 2yo Grp 2 (1) gd in Sep.
Bikini Babe (IRE) 5-1 (8-9) 2nd of 8, 1 1/4l behind Raihana (9-5) at Meydan(UAE) 1m 1f 3yo fll lst stks in Feb.
Circumvent 11-4 (9-1) 2nd of 5, hd behind Zeitoper (8-11) at Longchamp(FR) 1m 1f 2yo Grp 3 (1) in Oct.
