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Trip and ground fine for Prince in opener
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The Astrologist the one to beat at his best
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In These Shoes is on the up
13:15 - Prince Of Pillo
This is obviously a tight-knit sprint, with Equilateral the standard-setter at his best, but my horse has his chance if he can improve on his 2yo form. In fact, he doesn't have to step up that much on the form of his Ayr win or Cornwallis third to be very competitive here, and trip and ground are clearly fine. He has a 3lb penalty for his Listed race win but as the only 3yo in the race he does get the 7lb age allowance.
13:50 - All The King's Men
He runs off the same mark as when a close third at Epsom last week, when the first-time blinkers didn't do him any harm. He is consistent, and as such the handicapper may just have him for now, but he is clearly in good nick and I certainly wouldn't rule him out here at all. He has a very solid each-way chance and hopefully a winning one, too.
15:00 - Time Lock
She has a bit to find on the figures but this sister to Time Test has a lovely pedigree and she ran well on her return at Goodwood. Her second to Haskoy in the Galtres last season reads even better, and her wide-margin Newmarket novice win came on fast ground. She could well be in the shake-up here.
15:35 - The Astrologist
He has a 3lb penalty for his win in Australia back in December but that wouldn't worry me too much, even if it clearly makes him more vulnerable if the other form horses bounce back after some below-par efforts. Of course, he has to as well after his seventh at York for me last time but that would hopefully have brought him on a lot and sharpened him up and he is the one to beat at his Group 1-best. His Group 3 win in December came over this 7f trip, so stepping up from 6f could be a positive too.
16:10 - In These Shoes
She appeared to do it nicely at Beverley and a 5lb rise doesn't look too bad. This is a tougher race but she has a nice pedigree and is on the up.