Godolphin hold a strong hand in Kempton's 14:20 with Masterstroke, Royal Empire and Prince Bishop all making appeal, and the first named could be the answer with his recent reappearance under his belt. The four-year-old was lightly raced in France when trained by Andre Fabre, winning a Group 2 at Deauville and then following that up with a cracking effort to finish third in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, since when he has switched yards and joined Charlie Appleby. It is worth overlooking his reappearance run in a Group 3 at Goodwood, as he was keen to post and pulled too hard in the race itself, and much better is expected here now that he has got the freshness out of him.
The main race of the day is undoubtedly the Group 1 Sprint Cup at Haydock and, though dual Group 1 winner Lethal Force is very much the one to beat, his chance is reflected in his price and better value can be found with impressive Stewards' Cup winner Rex Imperator. Clearly this represents a stiffer task but Hoof It demonstrated in 2011 that a winner of a top-end handicap can go close in Group 1 company, and Rex Imperator's performance at Goodwood suggested that he was a pattern sprinter in the making. The forecast rain is a slight concern but he went well enough on soft ground at York last time and his position in the market looks to underestimate his actual chance.
Musical Comedy and Song of Rowland arrive here on the back of wide-margin victories in maiden company and look the pair to concentrate on, with the former taken to follow-up his six-length Windsor success from two weeks ago. Musical Comedy, a half-brother to three winners including the useful pair Humdrum and Full Toss, showed plenty on finishing mid-field in a Newmarket maiden on debut and duly stepped up on that performance to get off the mark at Windsor last month, travelling strongly before forging clear inside the final couple of furlongs. Further progress is most likely, and he could take a bit of stopping in this field.
Timeform UK SmartPlays:
Back Masterstroke in the 14:20 at Kempton
Back Rex Imperator in the 15:50 at Haydock
Back Musical Comedy in the 16:25 at Haydock
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