Could Artistic Star be a class apart on his handicap debut in Southwell's feature race?

The most interesting name to feature among the final declarations at this meeting was surely Artistic Star, who finished seventh in the Derby last summer and followed that by chasing home King Of Steel and Continuous in the King Edward VII Stakes.

Ralph Beckett clearly thought plenty of Artistic Star to throw him into the Epsom cauldron after only two runs in novice company. The son of Galileo is yet to replicate the promise of his Royal Ascot effort, but could prove a class apart on his handicap debut. The problem for his backers is the seventh-month absence. Will he need the outing? 

That question should be asked of two others. Max Mayhem ran creditably when fourth in the Chesterfield Cup at Glorious Goodwood on his previous run. That race also featured Track Of Time (11th), who arrives after a three-month break following wind surgery. Ian Williams' 2-44 record with such runners after the procedure should be a concern, for all Track Of Time has dropped a stone since January and sits on a tempting mark.

Champagne Prince, the sole three-year-old, is the up-and-comer. He is 0-5 on turf, but 3-3 on the sand and looked good on his return to a synthetic surface over course and distance last month. A step up in class demands extra, but he could be up to it.  

However, perhaps Dark Moon Rising will provide the value in the race with testing ground a feasible excuse for his Doncaster disappointment last time. His previous efforts were encouraging and one of his standout displays on Racing Post Ratings came on Tapeta.
Analysis by Robbie Wilders

Going update

The going is standard, although temperatures could reach as low as -3C overnight and a frost is expected. Thursday is set to be dry with temperatures reaching 3C. 

What they say

Hilal Kobeissi, trainer of Max Mayhem
He's a good horse and we gave him a break after his runs in the summer as we want to have a busy winter with him. This will hopefully dust off the cobwebs and it looks like a nice starting point.

Marco Botti, trainer of Felix
The voided race at Chelmsford was our target for a long time, so the unfortunate incident was annoying. We're running him over a mile and a half, which isn't his optimum trip, but there's not many opportunities for him now. He settles well, so we hope he'll run a good race.

Alan King, trainer of Paradias
He's better than the bare form of his last run, having come from a long way back in the November Handicap and not been beaten far at the line. We're giving him his first run on the all-weather and if he takes to the surfaces it'll give him a lot more options.

Daniel Kubler, joint-trainer of Andaleep
A mile and a half just stretches him a little bit, but we hope he'll be okay. He was travelling very well in the voided race at Chelmsford and he's come out of it well, so we're giving him another go.

Adam Ryan, assistant to Kevin Ryan, trainer of Dark Moon Rising
He was in strong form before not handling the soft ground in the November handicap last time. He's won on the all-weather before, so we're trying him back on it and hope he can bounce back, as he's in great order.
Reporting by Matt Rennie

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