Can the Arc-winning combination of Ralph Beckett and Rossa Ryan secure more success in intriguing puzzle?

Testing ground can be a real separator and it’s usually about finding the horse who will handle conditions best, but each of the eight runners have shown mud holds no fears, which makes this an intriguing puzzle.

The market will likely revolve around two last-time-out winners in Lord Melbourne and Stressfree.

The former notched his second victory for Ralph Beckett when justifying favouritism at Epsom in August. That victory came under amateur jockey Simon Walker, but Arc winner Rossa Ryan now takes over. Stressfree, meanwhile, got back to winning ways returned to soft ground at Chester last month. 

Lord Melbourne has to prove he still has the speed for this trip, having shown big improvement since upped to 1m4f, while both he and Stressfree have career-high marks and big weights to contend with.

Kotari holds stronger claims, having returned from almost four months off with a good fourth in the Autumn Cup at Newbury last month.

He is entitled to come on for that run and a 1lb drop puts him just 3lb higher than when beating a subsequent winner at Ascot in May. This trip on soft ground could prove ideal and this represents a big drop in class.

Power Of Destiny is probably the pick of the three-year-olds. She would have gone into plenty of notebooks after her second at Glorious Goodwood and was too bad to be true when trailing home last at York in August. She could prove a different proposition here for Sir Michael Stoute, who won this in 2022 with his only runner in the race in the last three years.

Bottomweight Galyx would be a danger to all if building on his handicap debut fourth at Newbury, while Aviemore and Dambuster will be better for soft ground but likely have a bit to find.
Analysis by Harry Wilson

Going update

The going on Monday was soft, heavy in places, with rain due overnight. Tuesday is forecast to start dry, with possible light rain during the day and a maximum temperature of 16C.

What they say

Oisin Murphy, rider of Dambuster
He seems fine at home after his unfortunate incident at Pontefract [when slipping and unseating PJ McDonald at the start] last time. He's a horse with plenty of ability and we expect him to be suited by the ground conditions.

Alastair Donald, spokesman for King Power Racing, owners of Power Of Destiny
She disappointed at York last time but came back wrong after that. She should have won at Goodwood before that and we think she is ahead of her mark. She handled testing ground earlier in the year so she goes there with a good shout.

Jack Channon, trainer of Galyx
He ran back off a summer break last time and seems to have improved for that at home. He's a nice horse who we are hoping will make into a smart four-year-old.
Reporting by David Milnes

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