Isle Of Lismore, one of three course-and-distance winners in the field, appears to have plenty in his favour.
Blessed with a low draw, he left the impression his turn was near when runner-up to Spring Bloom at Newmarket last month. Robert Cowell’s five-year-old was beaten six and a quarter lengths into fourth by Equality at Haydock last September, but reopposes on 10lb better terms and seems sure to run well.
Equality, the mount of champion jockey William Buick, has been highly tried this season and reverts to handicaps after finishing well beaten in the Group 3 Palace House Stakes and Group 2 Temple Stakes. The topweight may be considerably worse off with Isle Of Lismore, but the form book suggests he should have little difficulty turning the tables on Dream Composer, who beat him a length and three-quarters into third at Ascot last September, as he meets that rival on 15lb better terms.
Swayze, winner of two of his four starts since being gelded over the winter, has more to offer based on a commanding last-time-out success at Haydock. That three-length win coincided with him encountering fast ground for the first time this year, and he is likely to get those conditions at Windsor. He will need to defy a career-high mark of 92 following a 7lb rise, but could be open to further improvement.
Democracy Dilemma ran well in the Dash for three-year-olds at Epsom and should prove highly competitive once again off a 1lb lower mark of 88.
Analysis by Richard Birch
What they say
James Evans, trainer of Dream Composer
He’s been running really well this year and was a bit unlucky last time at Goodwood. Nothing went right but he ran great while giving a lot of weight to some decent sprinters. He’s in very good order and seems to run well at this time of year. The course is a little bit of an experiment as it’s his first time on a flat, faster five furlongs, but he showed a lot of pace and he’s improved this year.
Mick Appleby, trainer of Bedford Flyer
He’s in good form and ran well at York. He came out of that race in brilliant order and should hopefully have a good chance. The draw should be good and the course shouldn’t be a problem, he’s pretty versatile in that regard.
Clive Cox, trainer of Fernando Rah
He’s had a bit of a freshen up and this is his first run back on the turf this year. He’s run to a good level of form here before and hopefully he can make a good show. I think any thunderstorms wouldn’t go amiss – he wouldn’t want it too firm – but he’s not a soft-ground horse. He’s got a Wokingham entry and if all goes well here it would be a perfect step towards that.
Robert Cowell, trainer of Isle Of Lismore
It was a good effort at Newmarket last time and he stayed really well up the hill. He’s a course-and-distance winner, so we know he likes the track. We don’t want to run him on good to firm too many times, but I think he’ll be absolutely fine on the ground and there are a few showers forecast potentially, so if they materialise that will be even better. I think he’s got a fair chance.
Reporting by Catherine Macrae
Sign up here. Place a minimum £10 bet on the Sportsbook at odds of minimum 1/2 (1.5) and get £30 in free bets. Rewards valid for 30 days. SMS verification required. Only deposits via cards or Apple Pay will qualify. T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators that our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing.