IT used to be the case that it was very difficult to win the Beverley Bullet from a wide draw. From 2008 to 2017 inclusive, nine of the winners were drawn in the lowest four stalls.

So, in those 10 renewals, the 2011 winner Tangerine Trees – who was so good, and who went into the race in such form, that he won the Prix de l’Abbaye just over a month later – was the only horse who was able to defy a draw outside the top four stalls.

Not so these days. Whatever has happened to the draw over the minimum trip at Beverley, similar to what has happened to the draw over the minimum trip at Sandown, it appears that it is not as important to be drawn low as it used to be, and that has been in evidence in the recent results of the Beverley Bullet.

Only one of the last four winners was drawn lower than four. Take Cover won it from stall nine in 2018, Dakota Gold won it from stall eight in 2020, Tis Marvellous won it from stall six last year.

Favourite

Tis Marvellous is the logical favourite for this afternoon’s renewal too, Clive Cox’s horse is rated 5lb higher than he was last year, he is the highest rated horse in the race, 5lb higher than his nearest rival, and he doesn’t have to carry a penalty.

Also, we know now that he can handle the track, he went into the race last year as a little bit of an Ascot specialist, and, in the 18-year history of the race, there have been two back-to-back winners.

That said, Tis Marvellous went into the race on a high last season, he won the Shergar Cup Dash on his last run before going on to Beverley and running out an impressive winner of this race.

He has run just twice this season, and he has been well beaten on both occasions, albeit at a higher level on each occasion, and latterly in the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot.

He is the class act in the race, but he is short and he may be vulnerable.

If Korker could break a little more quickly than he usually breaks, then he could find the requisite progression, and if Existent could put it all together, he has the talent to play a leading role. But the value of the race could be King Of Stars.

Michael Appleby’s horse ran a big race in a hugely competitive handicap at York last time, and he did even better than the bare form of the run suggests.

Drawn on the near side that day in stall 22, he showed his customary pace on the near side before edging towards the far side late on. He hit the front at the furlong marker, but he was just run down close home by Bergerac.

Advantage

That was a race in which it was probably a significant advantage to race towards the far side. The other four horses who, with King Of Stars, filled the first five places all raced towards the far side.

Three of them were drawn low, while Nomadic Empire was astutely manoeuvred over there early on by Jason Watson from a relatively high draw.

King Of Stars hasn’t won yet this season, but he has run some fine races in defeat, including in a competitive handicap at Ascot last month, when he showed his early pace and was only just run down close home by Call Me Ginger.

Beverley should suit his forward-going racing style much better than Ascot did.

He is drawn in stall nine, which is not ideal, but it is easy to see him breaking sharply and getting across quite early, thus mitigating the negative impact of his draw, just as Take Cover did from the same stall in the same race in 2018.

It is a race in which it can be difficult for the hold-up horses, and King Of Stars’ early pace should be a big asset.

Goodwood

Lyndon B looks over-priced too in the seven-furlong handicap at Goodwood. John Flint’s horse can be an in-and-out performer, but he goes into the race in really good form, his last two runs have been good, and he goes well at Goodwood.

He hasn’t run a bad race there in three visits, as a record of 321 suggests.

The 1 was last time in a handicap over today’s course and distance, when he did well to win from stall 14.

Well back in the field early on, he charted his way through traffic on the far side, and he showed a fine turn of foot to hit the front on the run to the furlong marker.

He kept on well from there, and he left the impression that he was winning with more in hand than the one-and-a-quarter-length winning margin.

The third horse, Dance Fever, enhanced the form too with a fine run at Newbury two weeks ago.

Lower mark

The handicapper raised Lyndon B by 5lb for that win, which was more than fair. Also, it leaves him on a mark of 87, which is 3lb lower than his highest winning mark and 10lb lower than his peak.

Back at Goodwood, from a better draw than last time, back over the seven-furlong trip that probably suits him better than a mile, he could out-run his odds by a fair way.

Recommended

King Of Stars, 1 point win, 2.40 Beverley, 8/1 (generally)

Lyndon B, 1 point win, 2.25 Goodwood, 7/1 (generally)