Good To Firm

3:15 William Hill Poker Grand Prix Strensall Stakes (Group 3) (1) (3yo+)

[off 3:15] £30,000.00, £11,500.00, £5,750.00, £2,750.00 (1m208y) 1m1f

Comments In Running OR TS RPR

1 Mullins Bay (1) A P O´Brien 4 9-4 K Fallon 5/2 93 119

2 nk Andean (2) Saeed Bin Suroor 4 9-4 t L Dettori 4/1 106 93 118

3 4 Maraahel (IRE) (6) Sir Michael Stoute 4 9-8 R Hills EvensF 121 88 114

4 3½ Democratic Deficit (IRE) (5) J S Bolger 3 9-1 K J Manning 12/1 81 107

5 6 Wise Dennis (3) A P Jarvis 3 8-11 S Sanders 66/1 105 64 91

6 3 Trew Class (4) M H Tompkins 4 9-1 E Ahern 33/1 95 55 82

6 ran TIME 1m 49.19s (fast by 1.81s) TOTAL SP 110%

1st OWNER: Mrs John Magnier & M Tabor BRED: Meon Valley Stud TRAINER: A P O'Brien

2nd OWNER: Godolphin

3rd OWNER: Hamdan Al Maktoum

TOTE WIN £3.10 PL £1.60, £2.10; Ex £10.90; CSF £12.44

After a stewards' inquiry, the placings remained unaltered.

ANALYSIS: An interesting race for this Group 3 event, which saw MULLINS BAY make the successful transition from handicap company, following his win in last month's John Smith's Cup. A strong-galloper, who tracked the leaders, he went to the front entering the final furlong, but he showed a tendency, both before and after striking the front, to go to his right, and he carried the runner-up with him in the final 150 yards. He is plainly going the right way and this trip seems ideal for him.

Andean, who made the running, ran a fine race in defeat, as he was done no favours by the winner, who took him across the track inside the last. Given that there was only a neck in it at the line, the runner-up deserves plenty of credit for this gritty effort.

Maraahel was comfortably held in third and failed to reproduce his International running of two weeks ago over this shorter distance. Whether he was beaten by pacier rivals, or whether this race came a shade too quickly after his Group 1 exertions - or a combination of the two - can be used as excuses is anyone's' guess.