I Am Fred to win Eros Trophy

RUNAWAY ALGO's susceptibility to caving in after a speed duel, as he did when knotting up with SHE'S MY DESTINY at six and a half furlongs on April 8, again leaves him open to I AM FRED's powerful stretch run in Saturday's Eros Trophy at seven furlongs.

I AM FRED stalked RUNAWAY ALGO in a scorching 57.0 split to maul the speedster by two and a half lengths on his turf in April, clocking a terrific 1:18.2 with topweight 126lb.

RUNAWAY ALGO would have had a glorious chance to slip the field had his handlers opted to call in a rider to catch 110lb instead of going eight over for Raddesh Roman, who is a decent jockey aboard front-runners but will have MAHOGANY on his girth strap and I AM FRED stalking prey from just off the pace.

Speedy and dangerous on the lead, RUNAWAY ALGO has never beaten a top-class horse at middle-distance. He scored two overnight allowance victories at seven and a half and a mile, beating ONEOFAKIND and MONEY MONSTER, respectively.

Massacring washed-up CALCULUS at seven and a half furlongs on May 20, with no matching speed in town, was as easy as his two overnight allowance victories.

Though moving four pounds up the scale from his April 22 humbling of topweight MAHOGANY at a mile, I AM FRED's powerful win, collaring the speedster on the home turn and pulling away throughout the stretch run, confirmed Jason DaCosta's five-year-old foreigner as the hottest horse in the land, a point he should prove.

I AM FRED underlined his form by allowing stablemate KING ARTHUR 14lb when beating him at nine furlongs and 25 yards on June 3. KING ARTHUR, the 2020 Jamaica Derby winner, might be getting long in the tooth at age six but never fails to remind that he is a genuine grade-one horse, actually carrying the fight to MAHOGANY on the lead in April, setting up I AM FRED to pounce on the home turn.

MAHOGANY was at his devastating best in last December's Ian Levy, clocking 1:44.1 at eight and a half furlongs. He dismissed SHE'S MY DESTINY at six and a half early February but hasn't seemed the same horse since, led by KING ARTHUR at a mile off a near three-month layup on April 22, before meekly surrendering to I AM FRED coming off the turn.

RUNAWAY ALGO has the handicaps in his favour at 115lb whereas MAHOGANY is renowned for reporting razor-sharp whenever fresh as a daisy off a layup. However, I AM FRED's run of form is simply too good to question at middle-distance, having put both his rivals to the sword in amassing four consecutive victories this season.