Every horse deserves to be forgiven for one bad run, especially on the dreaded dirt, and ROYAL MARINE can put a disastrous effort at Meydan in January behind him in Wednesday's bet365 Craven Stakes over Newmarket's Rowley Mile.
In Dubai, Saeed Bin Suroor's colt never recovered from a slow start and was struggling all the way on the unfamiliar surface, but the form of his previous victory in the Group One Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at Longchamp gives him outstanding form claims back on turf.
Having struck the front well over a furlong out in Paris, Royal Marine showed plenty of determination to fend off the recent eight-length Leopardstown winner Broome with the highly regarded Anodor (on course for the French Guineas) third and Shaman (winner of both his starts in France this season) in fifth.
That performance earned the selection a rating of 113 which sets a high standard for his mostly lightly-raced rivals.
Also wearing the blue colours of Godolphin is Zakouski who, clearly highly regarded by trainer Charlie Appleby, takes a big step up in class after his taking Kempton victory in November, though the form has been let down since by the runner-up Headman.
Skardu's seven-furlong course win on his debut in September looks to have a bit more substance, though a starting price of 33-1 that day suggested he hadn't exactly been burning up the gallops beforehand.
More experienced are Confiding and Watan who boast useful efforts but had their limitations exposed by the 2000 Guineas favourite Too Darn Hot when third and fifth respectively in the Solario Stakes at Sandown.
At Cheltenham, WENYERREADYFREDDIE could be fresher than most in the Barchester Healthcare Silver Trophy Limited Handicap Chase.
Nicky Henderson's gelding has been off the course since finishing well beaten at Doncaster in late December, but he clearly failed to give his running there and is much better judged on two earlier victories at Ascot.
In the first of those wins, Wenyerreadyfreddie took advantage of a lenient mark to slam Caid Du Lin by 18 lengths and then followed up at the expense of Kildisart and Azzerti despite jumping markedly left.
The latter form has been well advertised since and the combination of a left-handed course and the likely fast conditions should suit him well up against Mister Whitaker and Highway One O One who were both well beaten at last month's Festival.
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