Why the bet365 Mile is a cut above previous runnings and a race to savour

This season's bet365 Mile is streets ahead of the previous running and ranks among the best in its recent history. The lowest-rated of the seven this year, Imperial Fighter (109), would have been the second highest-rated in 2022, while favourite Light Infantry is the only horse in the last decade with a rating in the 120s bar 2021 winner Palace Pier.

Light Infantry's journey to the top might have escaped the attention of a British audience. Following a ninth-placed finish in the 2,000 Guineas, this four-year-old outran accumulative odds of 50-1 to fill the runner-up spot in Deauville's Prix Jean Prat and then the Jacques le Marois. He then signed off his campaign with a staying-on sixth from an unpromising position in Australia's Golden Eagle.

Light Infantry is back on home soil now and faces the slowest ground he's ever encountered. That opens up the prospect of further improvement as the progeny of his sire Fast Company tend to excel in such conditions.

The other son of Fast Company is Checkandchallenge, who earned his joint-highest figure on Racing Post Ratings with a 115 on very soft ground in a Group 2 at Longchamp in October. The pair are open to a similar level of improvement after just six and eight runs, although Checkandchallenge will need to up his game.

Mutasaabeq was the moral winner of this last year as he arrived from last to claim a neck second in a slowly run affair in which he was hampered on the run-in. However, a 3lb penalty will be difficult to overcome in this deeper event.

Angel Bleu is respected if recapturing the form of his juvenile campaign, which climaxed with a French Group 1 double on heavy and very soft going, albeit such a resurgence requires a leap of faith.

Migration: brilliant in the Lincoln last time

The overpriced one is arguably Migration for David Menuisier. He is joint second-best on BHA ratings and will have a fitness edge over Light Infantry, Checkandchallenge, Mutasaabeq and Potapova after an impressive strike off top weight in the Lincoln on heavy ground. His profile lacks the glamour of others given he is seven and graduates through the handicap ranks, but this in-form strong stayer has plenty in his favour.
Race analysis by Robbie Wilders

What they say

Charlie Hills, trainer of Mutasaabeq
He's got nice form on the ground, we've got a 3lb penalty but we've been really happy with him in the last couple of weeks. He seemed to like the blinkers last time when he won a Group 2.

Ralph Beckett, trainer of Angel Bleu
The ground and the turning track will suit him. It didn't work out for him in France last time, when there was just no pace and he was in the wrong place when they quickened.

William Knight, trainer of Checkandchallenge
He'll go with cut in the ground for sure. It's just whether after a winter off it will find him out in terms of fitness, as it could be very testing. I feel like we've done enough with him at home to warrant him running another big race and we've been very happy with his preparation. It looks a good opportunity for him to start the season.

Oisin Murphy, rider of Imperial Fighter
He's been in good form since Doncaster and we're hoping he can run well.

David Simcock, trainer of Light Infantry
It was always the plan he'd come back to me and then return to Australia for their spring. He's won on very soft ground at Newbury as a two-year-old, but that's way below his Marois form which was on fast ground. I don't think he'd want extremes. He gets very fresh and this will get it out of him, then I think we'll go to the Lockinge and Queen Anne.

David Menuisier, trainer of Migration
Being rated 113, you don't have that many options so it was a case of choosing between this and a race in France on Monday. The ground is why we've decided to go and Sandown is just down the road. He's run well at the track before and we're hopeful - last time was a career best and he's in the form of his life. He had severe tendonitis three years ago and the vets told me he would never see a racecourse again, so we'll enjoy every minute of it.

James Savage, assistant to Sir Michael Stoute, trainer of Potapova
She likes Sandown and is training really well, but she might not like the ground. It's a good starting point and will tell us where to go for the rest of the season.

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