Monsajem stands out as the nap selection in the opening nursery, the Ralph Raper Memorial Prince Of Wales Cup, on a really top-class card at Doncaster today. It is hard to name many Godolphin-owned winners of handicaps. But that's simply because so few of their expensively-bought charges are rated leniently enough to get in to handicaps, let alone win them.
Monsajem, however, looks to be a rare exception to that rule, seemingly improving with every run, breaking his duck last time out at Chepstow with a half-length victory over Tensile.
With the handicapper looking to have been fairly charitable, Saeed bin Suroor's colt can confirm placings here with the runner-up and fulfil the promise of his earlier runs in better company at Sandown and York.
Taking into consideration the niggling doubts over the early-season form of likely red-hot favourite Double Trigger, Persian Punch gets the percentage call at a more appealing price to land today's Great North Eastern Doncaster Cup.
On the bare form, none of his rivals should be able to hold a candle to the Goodwood Cup winner but with the six-year-old likely to go off at a short price, punters should not be too hasty to get involved.
He was bitterly disappointing on his first two outings of the season and although he did bounce back in great style last time out, Double Trigger had seemed to sulk before at Royal Ascot when blinkered and unable to dominate proceedings.
If one of his rivals here were to unsettle him by taking him on for the lead, then he might become a shade vulnerable.
David Elsworth's four-year-old could be the one to profit from any such spoiling tactics. On the face of it, the colt has a mountain to climb to overturn the Goodwood form where he was beaten fair and square in fifth.
He has again disappointed since when filling the same position behind Classic Cliche at Deauville. But a return to the form of his victory at Sandown in the Henry II Stakes back in May, when beating subsequent Ascot Gold Cup winner Celeric by three quarters of a length, can see Persian Punch regain the winning thread in this Group Three.
Poteen disappointed favourite-backers when turned over at York last time out, being unable to find an answer to the late burst of Hidden Meadow. But the 2000 Guineas third has a good chance to make amends in the Britain's Fastest Railway Park Stakes.
Having had two months off the track after disappointing at Royal Ascot, Poteen might well strip fitter this time and can confirm the strength of his Newmarket form here.
