Analyis of the race
The field initially broke into three groups with Chjimes, Jo'Burg and Tudor Prince sticking to their guns from their high draws to race alone midtrack. Eight others initially raced away from the low-drawn group near the stands' rail before tacking across to join the pace being set there.
As such there looked to be a big advantage to the stands' side group with those wider out reporting they were 4l or more off the pace. This race has been upgraded to its former Group 2 status for the last two runnings but paddock inspection showed many lacked much scope, being early sprinting sortsand this was borne out as the first two had the race between them from a long way out with the rest coming home in a bunched finish with less than 2l from fourth to 11th.
HELLVELYN had already received rave reviews from his trainer Bryan Smart for his homework as much as winning his two races, form which has not been franked spectacularly, and he looks a most progressive youngster. He looks a class act, being one of the few to travel easily up with the pace and connections felt he hit the frontplenty early enough and he looked to be idling which let Major Cadeaux rally. Interestingly, connections feel he will have no problem with 7f and 1m and he certainly has the scope to progress. As such the stand-out 33-1 offered by Totesport begs to be included in any Classic portfolio for the 2,000 Guineas, although he is likely to be seen at his best on a sound surface.
Major Cadeaux lost nothing in defeat. He got agitated in the stalls and needed help from a stalls handler but it looked to have no effect on his performance. He picked up the pace after a furlong to stretch everything else and again connections feel he will progress apace up to 1m next year.
Only the poorly-drawn trio of Tariq, Kalgoorlie and Jo'Burg, who all shaped with the promise of better to come from their bare form, have any sort of excuses. Tariq possibly found this faster ground than on his debut just catching him out but he stayed on stoutly midtrack to snatch third. Connections pointed the way to the July Stakesor possibly a trip to France.
Jo'Burg deserves plenty of credit, having had to make his own way home widest out towards the inside rail when Tudor Prince and Chjimes could carry him no further into the last 2f. He has still virtually repeated his debut form with Major Cadeaux and he looks the type for something like the Richmond at Goodwood.
La Neige and Mubaashir ran similar races in tracking the pace and then responding to hard driving throughout the last 2f but being firmly put in their place by the principals.
Stablemates Sadeek, the Listed Woodcote winner, and Prince Golan finished upsides. Both showed speed but got taken off their feet as the tempo was upped from halfway but they give the form a solid look while looking just shy of this group class.
Baby Strange got quite warm and stirred up in the preliminaries and could not retain his unbeaten record or run to his form with La Niege, He is a likeable scopey colt, who can prove the form wrong when handling the preliminaries better. Captain Marvelous and Deadshot Keen ran as if they could have done with some more juice in the ground. They were outpaced before edging closer without threatening. Deadshot Keen was disappointing as he looked particularly well. Everymanforhimself, who is a strapping colt, showed pace but could not muster the pace from halfway on this quicker ground. Johannesburg Jack was on the back foot after stumbling out of the stalls but Holy Roman Emperor, given his stable's good record in the race, was most disappointing. A big market drifter through the day, he hung badly right when pulled out to get closer into the final 2f and he was well beaten into the final furlong. [BJ]
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Further Information
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