Auguste Rodin
Regally bred and very short in what should be a competitive betting heat, suggesting stable confidence. Shaped more like a Derby type as a juvenile and he’s clearly well suited to a stamina test, so perhaps he’s vulnerable to something speedy or a slowly run race. The one they all have to beat and the right favourite.
Little Big Bear
Champion juvenile from 2022 but hasn’t raced beyond 6f as injury cut short his season. There’s plenty of staying power on the dam side and he might just be the fastest horse in the field. Had looked relatively weak in the betting compared to his stablemate and you’d have to be concerned those closest to him don’t fancy his chances, but he looks a massive player again now there’s some money for him.
Chaldean
Won what looked a poor renewal of the Dewhurst at the time, albeit in a very good time and the form has been franked. A son of Frankel who should progress from two to three, he’s impossible to rule out with proven form on the Rowley Mile. Has to go close and looks good enough to win an average renewal, but you’d fancy there’s something better lurking.
Sakheer
A big eye catcher as a juvenile but his form lacks any real substance and has been let down since. His pedigree offers hope he’ll stay but you’d want a big price against this calibre of opposition, and his sire doesn’t produce many three-year-olds.
Royal Scotsman
Went very close in the Dewhurst behind Chaldean and proved he likes this track. Has to have a big chance if the British form ends up the strongest but I’m not sure it will be. He’s got every right to improve again and is value for single digit odds with the extra furlong likely to suit.
Silver Knott
Vibes from connections aren’t particularly strong and he’s weak in the betting. I couldn’t work out why he was so well fancied for the Breeders’ Cup but he ran a blinder. The market is a good guide to his chance – unless the money comes, he doesn’t look like a Guineas winner.
Noble Style
Unraced beyond 6f but unbeaten in three starts including the Group Two Gimcrack Stakes. Green and keen, he’s still a raw talent and has loads of scope to improve. Sire was a champion miler but the dam a sprinter, so there’s a big question mark over his stamina for this trip. Would need a big price to roll the dice but would surely be a big player if seeing out a mile. Connections don’t seem confident he will but they’re rightly having a go.
Indestructible
An emphatic win in the Craven Stakes supplemented a body of solid juvenile form that ties in with Chaldean. Looked an improved model as a three-year-old but the suspicion is his pedigree puts a ceiling on how good he can be. Course form gives him place claims.
Holloway Boy
A stayer in the making and well held on juvenile form with many of these. An unlikely winner.
Dubai Mile
Likely pace angle who battled to win a Group One over further on bad ground in France at the tail end of last season. Likely to be a sitting duck at this trip but definite place claims as he will stay really well.
Flight Plan, Hi Royal, Cairo
No credible hope on form.
Selection: The favourite will be hard to beat if the short price is indeed stable money, but LITTLE BIG BEAR could be the more natural miler of the two and has outstanding claims himself.
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