Tactical talent in a tactical race should decide the Chevalier Cup (1,600m) on Sunday and the Peter Ho Leung-trained Fifty Fifty looks the one to beat.

It’s an intriguing Class One, with the lack of a leader only adding to the tricky mix but Fifty Fifty (Karis Teetan) has the advantage of being able to lay up close to what might well turn out to be a stop-start pace.

The leader is not immediately obvious and probably half of this field would be capable of controlling a slowly run mile, but none of them have really made a name at it, bar perhaps Jolly Jolly, who did lead to win over 1,400m a couple of seasons ago.

So, whoever ends up in the lead, probably does so without a lot of enthusiasm for the role and will want to slow them up.

The five-year-old has experienced plenty of that lately, with a similar pace scenario characterising his three runs this season, all stop-start tempos and a dash home and he has come out on top in two of them.

Those efforts have been over 1,400m and now he steps up to 1,600m for the first time but Teetan has said all along he feels 1,600m will be the best distance for Fifty Fifty.

This race doesn’t look to be a serious test of stamina, but it will be a test of whether Fifty Fifty can relax in the slower tempo and, if he can, that burst of acceleration he has been showing at 1,400m might be enough to get him home with his light handicap.

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His danger is one horse who looks totally unsuited by the way this will be run – the Tony Cruz-trained Exultant (Matthew Chadwick).

Assuming he is ridden the same way as he was over 1,400m first-up, Exultant is going to be the one sitting out the back then getting home strongly late.

In a soft tempo, that looks a recipe for defeat but in that 1,400m race won by Western Express two weeks ago, Exultant faced the same pace problem, was checked halfway through the event and ultimately rattled home to be beaten only two lengths.

And here he has an extra 200m to run them down so do not discount the possibility that the Derby-bound four-year-old could be good enough to overcome the obstacles.

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Then the race gets quite even, with Jolly Jolly (Alexis Badel) a chance at the weights but less than convincing in previous mile attempts and Romantic Touch (Douglas Whyte) a knockout hope at odds even though he has been an infrequent winner.

Booming Delight will have his admirers here but he looks to have plenty against him with the top weight to carry and the lack of speed a problem for his racing style.

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