held up towards rear, headway over 3f out to chase leaders, ridden over 1f out, edged left and one pace inside final furlong
in rear, ridden over 1f out, soon weakened
tracked leaders, led over 1f out, ridden and headed inside final furlong, no extra towards finish
tracked leader, every chance over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, rider dropped whip, one pace inside final furlong
mid-division, lost place over 3f out
led, ridden and headed over 1f out, soon weakened
in touch, ridden over 1f out, no extra towards finish
held up in rear and keen, headway over 2f out, ridden 1f out, led inside final furlong, stayed on well
A chance is taken on BUSHMAN ahead of the intriguing Godolphin pair, Debussy and Monitor Closely. David Simcock's gelding has been in fine form this year, improving on previous efforts with a Listed and a Group Three win. Considering connections have always felt that he would be a stone better on softer ground his wins look even better and so with rain in the area he should run his race. If it turns out that he's not quite classy enough then the answer could be Debussy. He won well at Chester in May before getting to within five lengths of Byword in the Prince Of Wales's at Royal Ascot. He's a proven performer at this level and looks a huge player. Monitor Closely is a course winner and he makes his return in quite a tough race. His St Leger form puts him in contention but he has needed a run or two in the past. Nanton is gallant but may lack the class, Summit Surge is hard to weight up on his UK debut, whilst Dream Lodge is a quality handicapper at best. Godolphin have taken two of the last three renewals of this race and therefore Allybar and Balius are considered. The former was beaten by a short-neck in the Dubai World Cup before being well-held in the Prince Of Wales's, whilst Balius was further back in Dubai but is a proven Group Two winner and is not discounted lightly. A very open renewal then but preference is for Bushman.
Allybar (IRE) 25-1 (9-0) Pulled hard, raced on wide outside throughout towards rear, ridden 3f out, weakened over 2f out, 11th of 12, 13l behind Byword (9-0) at Royal Ascot 1m 2f Grp 1 (1) gf in Jun.
Balius (IRE) 4-1 (9-1) 5th of 10, 3 1/2l behind Voila Ici (9-1) at Capannelle(ITY) 1m 2f Grp 1 (1) hvy in Nov.
Bushman 11-1 (9-4) Prominent, chased leader 4f out, ridden to lead inside final furlong, found extra when pressed towards finish, won at Epsom Downs 1m Grp 3 (1) gd in Jun beating Alexandros (9-7) by nk, 9 ran.
Debussy (IRE) 25-1 (9-0) Tracked leading duo on inside, switched left off rail 2f out, soon disputing 2nd, still pressing leaders over 1f out, faded inside final furlong, 7th of 12, 4 1/2l behind Byword (9-0) at Royal Ascot 1m 2f Grp 1 (1) gf in Jun.
Dream Lodge (IRE) 20-1 (9-3) Held up mid-division, headway over 2f out, soon hard ridden, weakened approaching final furlong, 8th of 19, 7l behind Wigmore Hall (8-2) at York 1m 2f hcap (2) gf.
Monitor Closely (IRE) 7-2 (9-0) Held up towards rear, headway over 2f out, soon pressing leaders strongly, edged left and unable to quicken inside final furlong, 3rd of 8, 2 1/2l behind Mastery (9-0) at Doncaster 1m 7f 3yo Grp 1 (1) gf in Sep.
Nanton (USA) 40-1 (9-2) Dwelt, in rear, not troubled leaders, 6th of 8, 11l behind Sans Frontieres (9-2) at Newmarket 1m 4f Grp 2 (1) gf.
Summit Surge (IRE) 13-2 (9-7) 2nd of 10, 1l behind Pressing (9-11) at San Siro(ITY) 1m Grp 2 (1) gd in May.
