A back-to-form Jasour would be very dangerous and he's an intriguing runner after a break and wind surgery, but preference is for BALMORAL LADY (nap) whose stable has been on a roll in good-quality sprints and landed last autumn's Abbaye and last weekend's Temple Stakes with mares. The selection looks well worth another go in Listed company and her reappearance third from a poor draw at Chester should have blown away the cobwebs. Others with possibilities include No Half Measures, so progressive last season, the reliable Shagraan and the unexposed 3yo Leovanni.[Richard O'Brien]
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Front-runner who raised his game when winning Listed race at Beverley (5f, good to firm; handles soft) last summer; hasn't beaten a rival on his last two outings, and although he might have needed the run behind two of these in the Palace House on his return, he now has something to prove.
Sprint handicapper with a useful strike-rate, and his Pontefract win (5f, good) in April was his fourth from just 11 attempts; however, he's up markedly in grade and others have much stronger claims on the figures.
6f Group 2 winner as a 2yo; ran a cracker when third to Inisherin in last year's Group 1 Commonwealth Cup before his form tailed off in the second half of the season; now returns in a lower grade having had wind surgery; handles good to firm and good to soft ground, and dropping back to 5f should not inconvenience him; probably the one to beat if returning to his best.
Smart 5f/6f performer; unraced as 2yo but highly progressive in 2024, winning six of 11 starts and first home from the double-figure draws when fifth in Group 1 Abbaye at Longchamp; might have needed the run when only ninth of 11 in Group 3 Palace House at Newmarket (4-1) last month; needs to bounce back but that's certainly possible and she may still be unexposed.
Won four races for George Scott including the 2024 Palace House; finished in front of two of today's rivals in this year's running of that race, but was still some way below par in seventh; perhaps that run (his first for this yard) was needed, but he'd have a bit to find even on his peak form, and it's possible he's best in headgear.
Likeable sprinter with a consistent record in some of the top handicaps, typically giving his running when fourth of 17 at York two weeks ago; worth a go in this higher grade and he could outrun his likely odds.
Ended 2024 by winning 6f Listed fillies' race at Newmarket; faced a stiff task in the Group 2 Duke Of York Stakes on reappearance and came home tailed off after losing a shoe; that clearly wasn't her running but it's hard to know what sort of form she'll be in just 17 days on.
Landed handicap hat-trick in the mud last October and finished the campaign by going close in Listed race at Doncaster; showed she doesn't need soft ground to perform to her best when third from wide draw in handicap at Chester (5f, good) on return; reliable and progressive; should be firmly in the mix for same yard that landed Temple Stakes over C&D last weekend.
The only 3yo in the line-up; 2-4 last term, following Queen Mary win at Royal Ascot with creditable third in the Lowther at York (both on good to firm); seemed to flounder in the mud when last of seven in Group 1 Cheveley Park at Newmarket on final start; may not have reached her ceiling just yet and her stable could hardly be in better form.
1/5 Odds Place 1,2,3
( Pool guide displayed could change before the race starts & should be used as a guide only )
