Salisbury

The only horse in this field to have actually won a race, doing so first time out at Ffos Las three weeks ago — a rare and encouraging start to any career. However, that win came on different ground conditions and he has never raced on the dry surface he faces today, which is a genuine unknown. The market clearly had him as a near certainty earlier, but the drift from 1.04 to 2.02 suggests some doubt has crept in.

Making his racecourse debut today, so there is no form to judge him on, but his breeding points firmly towards speed over a sharp six furlongs — his father Invincible Spirit was one of the fastest horses of his generation and consistently produces precocious, quick youngsters. The jockey-trainer partnership of Oisin Murphy and Andrew Balding is the strongest in this field, winning together once in every five races across over 1,100 runs together. At 4.5, he is second favourite and represents a serious each-way option despite the question mark of the unknown debut.

Another first-time runner with nothing in the form book to assess, but the breeding has sprint written all over it — father Space Blues was a top-level winner over short distances in Europe and tends to sire horses that appreciate quick ground and sharp trips. The jockey-trainer combination of Rossa Ryan and Richard Hughes has a small but notably productive record together, winning 7 from just 17 races. At 13.0 he looks overlooked compared to some of his debutant rivals.

Finished eighth on his only race to date, beaten over 13 lengths at Newbury, which is the worst debut performance of any horse in this field who has actually raced. He does draw some indirect confidence from an in-form trainer, but on what little we have to go on, he has plenty to prove before he can be considered a realistic threat here.