Cracksman declared. No Kew Gardens, and no Walgeist as expected.

If the going is gf, then my ratings say
1/ poets world 102
2/ crystal ocean 100
3/ Rostropovich 100
4/ cracksman 98

Poets likes fast ground and will get away with gd, doesn't want soft in the description.
Crystal ocean, group 3 win rated better than his latest group 2 second, needs to improve
Rostropovich, win and place from 2 runs over 12f gives ew backers hope..looks more of a leger type to me.
Cracksman, not enough evidence for a big figure on gf, many would say that the going beat him lto, imo it was more to do with it being his 3rd group 1 in 7 weeks.

If the going is good.

1/ cracksman 104
2/ poets world 100
3/ hydrangea 100

Hydrangea, gf ground is just no good to her is would be the case with pivotal being in the breeding..Yorkshire oaks with give is hers.

If going is gs

1/ cracksman 103
2/ hydrangea 100
3/ coronet 100

Coronet..2 very nice runs this season with the Haydock 2nd franking the form in a group 2 nto. Can still only rate her top at group2 level

If going is soft...

1/ cracksman 107
2/ hydrangea 102
3/ salouen 100

Salouen, frequently runs very well races without winning, latest 2nd to cracksman reads well but Epsom is not his course. Worsening of the ground will suit him more than most.

Heavy rain south of Ascot and heading north.

I may be a little daft here, but would it be fair to say that :

a) Poets has never won over so far ?
b) Cracksman has never won on such ground ?

So by deduction isn't Crystal Ocean @ 11/4 a fair bet ?

That's where my £2 will be wagered.

GL all.

Cracksman cant beat Poets Word on their last run, so surprised bigger price available the latter

I like the horse, but think Crystal Ocean slightly over-estimated

Played 11/4, plus boost, Poets anyway

Hydrangea is a cd winner imp

if cracksman runs
can Robert havlin win a group 1
I don't think so

No bet for me at the available odds  but have a sneaky feeling that Crystal Ocean May put up a Harbinger’esque performance.

Harbinger was the wrong Stoute winner. Crystal nothing Harbinger'esque about it

Finally Gosden has announced what seemed almost inevitable. There has been a lot of talk about Cracksman not being the horse he was but for me the problem is he hasn't improved from 3 to 4 like horses need to in order to stay at the top. Nevertheless, as laboured as his POW may have looked it was still a very fast performance and only a couple of pounds short of his Champion Stakes demolition job. Meaning that Poet's Word but up a top drawer performance to beat him and I have it easily the best performance this season by any horse over any trip. Crystal Ocean is on a winning streak and further improvement can't be ruled out. Although in my view he will need to improve significantly on what he's shown as I have him fully a stone behind Poet's Word. His Hardwicke win was not in the class of Harbinger's win in the same race that's for sure.

The question with Poet's Word is if he will maintain that form. As a 5yo it can only be a matter of time before he starts to deteriorate. However, I have his latest win 11lbs better than his previous best so there is a strong chance he'll be good for at least one more run. There have been doubts raised about his stamina over this trip even though he has won over it. Personally I've never seen anything to doubt him but it has to be accepted that he's never shown his POW form over this trip and might not be quite as good over it. Given his past form over 12f I can't see him completely bombing out over the extra 2f but he may drop a few pounds. However I have him with plenty to spare here and make his real chances odds on so I've backed him.

Well, I wouldn't be laying Poets even at evens

Figgis

Yes, although I agree with you that on overall times PW was faster probably to the degree that you have. The reason why I have them closer is the old one of how the splits pan out.CO finished in 23.78 against PW in 24.79  and when using my conversion formula they are virtually the same. Of course, CO was over 12f whilst PW was over 10f. For what its worth, I don't have a problem with him delivering over 12f - I think that ground is much more important to him and he has the fast ground he is best on. I suppose I should look at the DF

Figgis

DE is a consistent animal, and this is his ground, and at the prices he does represent value at 80.0 each way, or at least for a place.

Never in doubt . No it was very close like you thought Sandown.

Wonderful finish to the race with a full 9 lengths back to the 3rd.

A couple of notable points about the race...this race is no longer deemed glamorous in the racing calendar proberley because it has bottomed and  finished off so many horses over the years and more prestigious races later in the season..regarding the first The first point, I can see both poets word and crystal ocean not winning another race between them. The time was by far the best over the 2 days and for future reference, the beaten horses only will be noted. Of which I'd take Rostoprovich but only against his own age group. Obviously ran below his best but if the stable had been in better form, he'd have finished closer. Still believe him to be a leger horse.

It was a wonderful race to watch. The winner Poets Word is 3/1 best with bookies, but a generous 5/1 with 'Matchb**k for The Juddmonte.

The 5/1 with Matchb**k for The Juddmonte is long gone. I think 4 weeks is more than adequate time between races in horse racing; AOB's done it with her fillies and colts eg Saxon Warrior and Delano Roosevelt; Elarqam had the same race as his next target prior to his defeat today, and possibly still do given he ran a bit free earlier on 1st time over 10f on soft ground.

All over Poets Word yesterday but Roaring Lion wins the Juddmonte!

Great finish by two typical quality improving horses from the stable but........how far back where the hapless also rans ?

With respect Impossible, think it's going to be more like the distance between them in the Derby this time