Yvette Bremner’s charge had won three of five starts when he was rested for more than seven months. His return to racing in May was most impressive as he scored a pillar-to-post victory over Tomcat in a 1000m race at Fairview.

In late June he raced again and there was no shortage of betting support for him. After opening at 4-1 he firmed into 5-2 but when the gates opened he lost a little bit of ground even though his blistering speed quickly steered him to the head of the field. But as they approached the final 200m he was clearly in trouble and faded late to trail in last of the 10 runners, beaten 10.90 lengths by Apolo Grey.

Many runners fail in their second start after a lengthy layoff and perhaps it is best to ignore that performance. Bandol was playing up a little at the start that may have taken a lot out of him. 

He probably has most to fear from First Growth. Mitch Wiese’s runner has won his last two starts and that includes a 1.25-length victory over Apolo Grey. With Justine King claiming a 4kg apprentice allowance, First Growth will carry just 52kg and will be in receipt of 6kg from Bandol.

However, First Growth is clearly better over 1200m and may be outpaced by a few of these speedy competitors.

Another nicely weighted contender is five-year-old mare Zili, who seldom runs a poor race over this course and distance. She has raced 11 times for four wins and six places. She also gets an additional 1.5kg off her back, courtesy of apprentice Jonathan Soll. Having beaten the boys before, there is no reason why she can’t repeat that feat.

Snow Drift and Liberated must both come into the reckoning but they are also better suited to a little further. However, if the pace is on up front and there are a couple of runners cutting each other’s throats, then these two will be making a late charge when the others have cried enough.