Britannia Stakes

Couldn't lead, was drawn wide and perhaps found good to firm too fast when fourth to Urban Sprawl at Goodwood on latest start (7f); made all for his good-ground win at York (7f; stays 1m) the run before; shade exposed now and perhaps placed at best.

Won twice as a 2yo, the handicap over this trip at Ayr (good) when a stone lower in the weights; nicely progressive this season but he was better positioned from a long way out than runner-up Royal Cape when just behind that one in Haydock's Silver Bowl (1m, good to firm) last time out; may struggle to reverse those placings here.

Won two 7f non-handicaps last backend and likeably consistent in defeat this season kept to 7f (Listed race latest); not obviously crying out for 1m and this is a stiff one; will need his best yet to defy highish mark in this hot handicap; effective on good or softer, unraced on good to firm.

Took his time to get on top when penalised in Newbury novice (7f, good) a month ago and none of those who chased him home have done anything for that form; could take another step forward now sent handicapping but he'll have to.

Unraced on ground softer than good; 7f novice winner (good to firm) who was close up in a strong 1m2f race at Newbury on handicap debut and perhaps the undulations of Epsom failed to float his boat last time; still looks a minor player in this deep a race, especially back at 1m.

His soft-ground 6f nursery win came off 17lb lower and his mark took a further hit for finishing close up in a valuable Irish sales race (7f, soft) on final run at two; gelded prior to this season and ran a solid race in defeat off this mark at York (7f, good; Dark Thirty won); 1m is worth exploring but others are far more intriguing.

Given a canny ride when dominating from the front at Goodwood (7f, good to firm) on his penultimate run but couldn't repeat the dose under similar conditions at Epsom; will need to improve for 1m (second on his previous attempt) to defy this mark and he smacks of a 7f specialist; seems fine on all ground.

Fourth in last year's Chesham at this meeting; opened his second campaign with a comfortable handicap win at Musselburgh (1m, good to soft) and, returned to front-running tactics, he was second to an impressive winner in the German 2,000 Guineas (good); has some class about him but top weights have a poor record in the Britannia.

Sole handicap win came off 15lb lower and he was beaten in two small-field events last autumn before jetting off to Dubai, where he was runner-up in both his races (1m1f Listed and 1m2f conditions event); couldn't call him well handicapped; goes on all ground.

Well backed when sluicing home in a Kempton handicap two weeks ago but that was his second win over 7f on the AW and not only is he 0-4 on grass, he's also unraced at 1m; when also factoring in the 11lb rise since last time, there are a few doubts to overcome; sold for £260,000 on Monday.

Only 2l behind Finn's Charm when a beaten favourite in last month's German 2,000 Guineas and 5lb better off with his stablemate here; held his own in Listed races prior to that and he's 2-3 in handicaps; scopey sort whom connections might not have got to the bottom of just yet; good or good to soft seems ideal.

Strike-rate of 4-8 and unbeaten in two runs since gelded, winning with a bit in hand at both Newmarket (1m, good to soft) and over a little shorter at Chester (soft); can race freely so this big-field scenario should suit, but whether he'll be good enough is doubtful.

Beat a subsequent winner at Newbury (7f novice, good) but that form is unconvincing as it's hard to believe he was a sudden improver on his tenth start, having been beaten in six handicaps previously; could be in trouble after being whacked up 16lb; unraced on turf slower than good.

Signed off as a 2yo with two 6f wins, the second in a heavy-ground handicap; reportedly benefited from the faster surface (good to firm) when going away in the finish at York (first run at 1m) and this stiffer track promises to suit him well; going the right way and Frankie rides for the first time.

Both wins have been at 7f but he needed all of that trip at the Curragh (good) a month ago to be ahead when it mattered; it's debatable whether he's got enough boot under the bonnet to win this much deeper race; best form on good or yielding (below par on softer).

Lost his first seven races but he's 2-3 since gelded and won his last two emphatically (7f/8.3f; good to firm; effective on soft); latest was under Alec Voikhansky; those were Class 4 races, so this represents a severe rise in class, and he was hurled up 12lb since latest.

Coming along nicely having won three of his last four, latterly doing well to defy a wide draw over slightly shorter at Chester (good) on Saturday; penalties are never welcomed in this race but he's versatile in many respects (ground/trip/tactics) and not ruled out.

Won as 2yo on good to soft (probably fine on good); returned with a last-gasp success at Southwell (7f, AW) in his second handicap but the placed horses from that race have struggled since and, on his rise in grade, he might be stranded off a 5lb higher mark.

0-5 since last summer's successful debut and now contesting his first handicap; closely matched with One Nation on their latest piece of Dubai form and, like his stablemate, he has an air of vulnerability in a race of this nature off what appears a tough mark; handles all ground.

Finished within 2l of the classy Cicero's Gift on the AW in March and went on to win his next two, including a C&D handicap last month with any amount in hand (on soft); assessor didn't hold back with a 14lb rise but this colt once had an Irish 2,000 Guineas entry and could easily be Group class; has run on only good to soft, soft and AW.

Fast improver who is on a five-timer and has course experience in the bag having dominated a 7f soft-ground handicap last month; beat only three rivals in that and he's getting high in the weights (up 18lb for his wins) but it's difficult to gauge the ceiling of his ability; has won on good but softer is perhaps ideal; stays 1m.

7f 2yo winner and he's finished third when returned to that trip (from 1m) in two handicaps at Goodwood (soft/good to firm; tongue tied); worth another crack over 1m but this race demands plenty more from him.

1m winner on the AW in France; third in a respected conditions race last time at Longchamp (good to soft) and his fourth there the time before on soft reads well, having finished just behind Angers who went on to win the German 2,000 Guineas by clear daylight; could be better handicapped than a lot of these; drying ground would be a grey area, though his sire excelled on good and faster.

Confined to 7f thus far; AW maiden winner who ran okay in a Group 3 first time back this season (heavy) but was down the field on his switch to handicaps at the Curragh (good) when connections saw the need for blinkers (retained here); hardly leaps off the page, despite powerful connections.

Had Betterdaysrcoming behind when following up his maiden win (on yielding) in a 1m handicap at Naas (good), beating a Ballydoyle inmate who bolted up the run before; with there talk of tackling Saturday's Group 3 Jersey after that latest win, he's one to be interested in off this sort of mark; shortlisted.

All runs at about 7f on soft; debut winner who was firmly put in his place in the Group 3 Greenham and then trailed home last in a handicap at Chester; that tight track may have been against him but he has a lot to prove thrown into a Britannia on only his fourth start.

Confined to the AW thus far; maintained his momentum with a clearcut success in the first-time hood in Newcastle novice 70 days ago (1m) but he beat two outsiders who haven't done much for the form subsequently; unexposed, admittedly, but is thrown into the furnace for his handicap/turf debut.

Not many win novices by 10l but that was the case with him at Windsor last month (1m, soft) and the horse who beat him on his handicap debut at Haydock (1m, good to firm) is favourite for Saturday's Group 3 Jersey Stakes; should have finished closer that day and he's just the type his trainer improves with experience; player.

It's unlikely he was seen to best effect in what developed into a sprint finish when winning a maiden at Killarney (1m, good to yielding) last time and the second has won since; handicap debutants don't have the best of records in this race but his trainer is such a shrewd operator that he's dangerous to dismiss.

Won his novice comfortably on the AW (1m2f) but still looked up against it in a 1m3f Listed event at Goodwood (good) and duly came up a long way short; it's hard to enthuse over this sort of mark and he's well down the pecking order.