chased leaders, led just over 2f out, headed over 1f out, ran on same pace
in touch, effort on outside 2f out, led over 1f out, ridden final furlong, held on well
held up, headway 2f out, kept on under pressure final furlong, not pace to reach winner
held up, effort on outside over 1f out, weakened final furlong
in touch on rail, no room from over 2f out until entering final furlong, ran on strongly towards finish
chased leader to just over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
led to just over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
behind, pushed along halfway, soon struggling
Now back to the level of his juvenile form, Somnus can make it three wins on the bounce in the Shergar Sprint. The vanquished in his two-year-old days included the likes of Airwave and Tout Seul. Having taken a couple of runs to warm to his theme this year, the Tim Easterby-trained colt looked good in landing a Listed event last time and has the added bonus of having drawn Kevin Darley, his regular rider, to partner him. Move It might prove to be his biggest danger. He holds Coconut Penang on their Newmarket runs last time, but is now actually seven pounds worse off with The Kiddykid for just over a length that day, so the latter clearly has every right to go well. Royal Beacon is lightly raced and is the type to keep on improving, so don't be surprised to see him go well. Wimple has a bit to find on official ratings - the selection comes out clear on those - and Percy Douglas and Telepathic are even further adrift. The latter is, however, a very likeable type and should be up to winning races before the season is out. Today, however, can belong to Somnus.
