Key questions and quotes for the Solario Stakes as Positive carries Cox hopes

3.35 Sandown
Betway Solario Stakes (Group 3) | 7f | 2yo | ITV4/RTV

Key questions

Can Cox hope prove to be another Solario star?

The Solario Stakes has provided some top-class winners of late, with last season's champion juvenile Too Darn Hot successful in this Group 3 a year ago.

Masar, Kingman and Raven's Pass have also taken in this contest in recent years en route to bigger glories and the favourite for this year's race is Positive.

Trained by Clive Cox, Positive streaked clear by five lengths on debut at Salisbury, then found only ante-post 2,000 Guineas favourite Pinatubo too strong at Goodwood.

Held in high regard by Cox, Positive could leap into the reckoning for next season's Classics with a dominant win, and the trainer said: "Positive is a very exciting individual and we were thrilled with his second to Pinatubo in the Vintage.

"Pinatubo is clearly a serious two-year-old, and we were more inclined to be pleased at how well we beat the rest than disappointed by how far we were beaten by the winner.

"We are very much on an upward curve with Positive and he's got the size and scope to keep going forward. This is a good opportunity for him to continue that progress."

Does Charlie Appleby have another Derby hero in the race?

Two seasons ago Charlie Appleby won the Solario with Masar. This year, the trainer has two chances for the race, led by seven-figure purchase Al Suhail.

With a 1.1 million guineas pricetag, the hope will be that Al Suhail ends up at racing's top table, and his middle-distance pedigree – a half-brother to Telecaster – offers encouragement he can follow the same career path as last year's Derby hero Masar.

An easy winner at Yarmouth last time, this will demand more and Appleby said: "We feel that the track at Sandown, with the stiff seven furlongs, should suit.

"He was out on a wing on his debut at Newmarket and was always doing too much, but got some cover at Yarmouth, which helped, along with wearing a hood.

"He is ready to step up to this level but we'll be a lot wiser about his future afterwards."

Full Verse is Appleby's other runner, and outsider of the seven-strong field. A Doncaster novice winner, the son of Kodiac is stepping into Pattern company for the first time.

"We've always felt that Full Verse hasn’t shown on the racecourse what he does at home," Appleby added. "He was gelded after his last run and we are hoping that it can produce an improved performance."

Visinari (near): looked very exciting at NewmarketCredit: Edward Whitaker

Can Visinari deliver for Mark Johnston?

Visinari's debut victory at Newmarket in June left clock-watchers in a lather, but he did not take the anticipated step forward from his subsequent third in the July Stakes when fourth behind Pinatubo in the Vintage Stakes at Goodwood last time.

That effort may have been disappointing, but the son of Dark Angel has only had three career starts and could easily leave that effort behind.

Charlie Johnston, son and assistant to Mark Johnston, said: "It's a bit of a strange situation to be in, with there being an air of disappointment about a horse who has finished second and fourth in Group 2s on his second and third starts, but such was the reputation that snowballed around him after his debut win at Newmarket.

"We certainly didn't feel it ourselves at Newmarket, as we left very happy even though he had been beaten. He'd shown a huge amount of promise and we felt he would have learned a huge amount from being in the heat of battle.

"Goodwood was probably more of a disappointment because of the margin of defeat, as we hoped the step up to seven furlongs would help him.

"He needs to do much better, but Ryan [Moore] is back on board – not that Frankie [Dettori] has done anything wrong – and we are hopeful that the track will suit him better and also the opportunity to race again on proper fast ground, which he didn't get at Goodwood."

What the rest say

John Gosden, trainer of Eshaasy
He's a progressive horse and won his novice well and it was a choice of another novice under a penalty or a step up to this. It's a competitive race, as it always is, and he should be in the shake-up.

Simon Dow, trainer of Hector Loza
We're in the lion's den and we're not holding any aspirations, but we felt we had a lovely horse who seems quite a mature two-year-old, so we'll take them on while we're in great order. He's got to improve again and show that he's as comfortable on the turf as he is the all-weather, but he will stay and will be running over a mile-plus next year.

Andrew Balding, trainer of Kameko
He won his maiden well at the course and I like the way he's worked since. He's shaping up into a nice horse, it's a tough assignment and I'd hope he'd run well.

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