What may have been a below-average renewal of this Group 2 could still have produced a decent winner. Great Barrier Reef was probably more dominant than the winning margin suggests considering he defied a low draw in stall 3 (the nine that followed him home were all drawn in a double-figure stall) and ended up coming over towards the stands side to join the rest of those involved in the finish late on. Apart from the early leader, the race was run at a fairly even pace and the winner was close to par throughout.
was prominent in the smaller group on the far side early on, but they moved across after halfway led. He still found himself towards the centre but drifted left once clear of those around him after a reminder until he met company. He found most when it mattered with the quickest final furlong and emerged victorious by half a length, going away at the line.
appreciated the step up in trip here as he travelled better, going half a stride slower. He was briefly short of room a couple of furlongs out and with such fine margins that may have been the difference, but considering where the winner came from it is hard to say that he was the best horse.
had less experience than the pair that beat him having only made his debut six days ago. He came stands side from his draw in stall 10 and was in the second wave that tracked the early leader. He ran around a little under pressure initially, perhaps a sign of his inexperience, but stayed on well again in the final furlong. He should improve for the benefit of this run.
had a good draw in stall 19, but as he was held up he had to sit and wait until a gap appeared between Adaay of Scarlett and Confucius. He looked like a threat to all then, but his effort did flatten out a little inside the final furlong. Another having just his second start, perhaps this stiff six furlongs tested his stamina too much.
also came from off the pace stands side but burrowed his way through a furlong and a half out. Similar to Cut A Dash, once he did get racing room, he wasn’t quite able to sustain his effort and was slower than those that finished ahead of him for the final sectional.
still looks far from the finished article, and he rolled around under pressure, while his head was a little high too. It was still a decent effort, but I feel like there is more to come from him.
is still a maiden after finishing behind Mrair (eighth here) on debut a couple of weeks ago. He was prominent on the stands side but hung a little under pressure and when passed he found himself short of room late on.
should have finished closer with a bit more luck as he didn’t have a clear passage a couple of times. He wouldn’t have won but the effort deserves to be marked up a little.
went hard for the opening furlong and paid the price for that a little late on, especially in the final furlong. He is also still a maiden after three defeats over five furlongs.
left his Newbury debut effort well behind here and kept going despite being under pressure from halfway.
shaped reasonably from his draw in stall 9, again stepping forward from his debut second. He moved into contention in the middle of the contest but weakened in the final furlong.
raced in the rear of the far side group and had a lot to do when the groups joined. He was closest to the far side too and weakened in the closing stages.
travelled well but was unable to quicken and was squeezed out in the penultimate furlong before fading.
only made his debut nine days ago. He was short of room at a vital stage and although he ran on again under hands and heels once in the clear, it was only past beaten horses.
was always in rear on the far side group before plugging on past tired horses late on.
was keen towards the front of the near side group and faded quickly as the race developed.
was prominent on the near side, travelling well, but found little under pressure. He was bumped which didn’t help but he weakened quickly and was eased.
was prominent on the far side and remained in contention until the group joined but was left behind in the penultimate furlong.
came stands side from stall 8 but was off the pace as a result. He briefly looked a threat at the two-pole, but he was paddling by the furlong marker.
made the running far side and led that smaller group as they joined the others but weakened soon after.
also raced on the far side and never really got involved, eased for most of the final furlong.
