Border looks best
Normally a front runner, the Roger Charlton-trained five-year-old was ridden with restraint in a seven-furlong Listed race but refused to settle when dropped out and could never land a blow to the leaders, trailing home seventh of 10 behind easy winner Suggestive.
The Selkirk gelding had previously shown high-class form over today’s trip of six furlongs. He was poorly drawn in the Vodafone Stewards’ Cup on his penultimate start but had run with great credit to finish second to Capricho in the Wokingham Stakes at Royal Ascot where he shouldered top weight of 9st 10lb.
That was a tremendous effort by Border Subject which gives him the edge over his rivals today.
Desert Deer raced too freely for his own good up with a strong pace in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot last time and understandably faded in the straight to finish well behind easy winner Grandera.
Mark Johnston’s promising four-year-old had earlier put up a very impressive performance in a minor event at Newmarket on his reappearance when he slammed Chianti by nine lengths. A return to that level of form would be good enough for Desert Deer to regain the winning thread today at the main expense of the tough Umistim and Godolphin’s Imtiyaz.
Adjawar benefited from a masterly piece of waiting in front by jockey Steve Drowne at Epsom last month. Having set a very ordinary pace in the early stages, Drowne kicked on rounding the turn for him and had the race won from that point, in the end coming home four lengths clear of Aker Wood.
Similar tactics on the Knavesmire can see Hughie Morrison’s four-year-old follow up in the Go Racing In Yorkshire Handicap.
