tracked clear leader, close up 7f out, led over 3f out, ridden over 1f out, headed inside final furlong
held up, headway to go 2nd briefly 2f out, ridden and weakened 1f out
led, clear up to 2f, steadied halfway, ridden and headed over 3f out, weakened over 1f out
held up rear, switched right and headway over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, ran on to lead inside final furlong
Desert Image can take this event from West Country, with few of the others make much appeal over this trip. The selection has gone consistently well for Colin Tinkler, winning once and finishing in the frame on five occasions since his debut last July. Two of those placed efforts have come here over 10 furlongs on his two latest starts. He handles fast ground well enough, looks like producing his running again despite a 10lb rise and as he has been staying on at the end of his races this step up may well be in his favour, so we side with him. Mark Johnston's yard continue to have winners and although we don't expect West Country to join the list just yet, a decent performance is anticipated. Stepped up from six furlongs to almost a mile-and-a-half here, that gap in trip does not seem too difficult to bridge when considering he is a half brother to a 10 furlong winner. With Red Birr, Vengerov and Starmix all unlikely to genuinely see out the trip, Johnston's runner can chase home the selection, Desert Image.
