With the exception of an added 200m, the John Size-trained Fay Fay is back where he was four weeks ago as the horse to beat in a Group One four-year-old event where sweating on the tempo is his greatest concern.
Fay Fay (Douglas Whyte) was beaten by a farcical tempo in the Classic Mile last month and faces the same prospect again in the Classic Cup, but remains the horse to beat nevertheless.
From nine starts he has won five and finished second four times and has given every indication he will be well suited getting out to staying trips.
Stepping to 1,600m for the first time earlier this season, he went bang and won three on end before the ridiculous Classic Mile tempo brought him unstuck last outing.
To put that race into context, Peppermint ran a faster overall time in the 1,600m Class Three half-an-hour earlier, ran down the straight just as fast as Fay Fay and Sweet Orange, and nobody is bouncing around with the idea that Peppermint is a Derby chance. The whole race goes straight into the bin as a guide, even though the personnel today are mostly the same.
If going to 1,800m for the first time brings a response from Fay Fay like going to the mile did in November, then this race is his for the taking.
But then there's the tempo.
