However, while there is nothing to take away from the imposing public fancy, I feel Dr Ramaswamy's Shivalik Hero, trained by Malesh Narredu, who finished a tame second to Machiavellianism in that race now has a good chance to turn the tables on his conqueror thanks to a mighty positive jockey switch from the inexperienced & struggling Liam P Jones to the experienced & accomplished Colm O'Donoghue. Montezuma & An Acquired Taste also look poised to run a big race.

As the best betting proposition of the afternoon, I nominate Rio, the Multidimensional progeny from Narredu's yard, in the Ahmed I Rahimtoola Trophy for maiden three-year-olds. He should be able to easily beat his ten rivals including Panthera, Veena's Star & Yellowzone.