chased leaders, ridden halfway, soon weakened
mid-division, ridden and headway halfway, every chance when challenged inside last, kept on
mid-division, ridden 2f out, never dangerous
with leaders, ridden 2f out, led entering final furlong, kept on and headed towards finish
tracked leaders, ridden halfway, soon weakened
chased leaders, ridden halfway, weakened approaching final furlong
slowly into stride, pushed along behind and outpaced, soon pushed along, ridden and switched left halfway, ran on well to lead towards finish
This presents Dark Champion with an opportunity to finally rid himself of the maiden tag and the three-year-old is taken to edge out Boavista and Yamolo in what could well be a tight finish. Montez is another who is capable of getting involved in the shake-up and will be interesting if he is supported. But Dark Champion put in his best effort for some time over this trip at Newcastle last time and he will be difficult to master if he is in the same frame of mind today. The ground has also come up in his favour and, with tough journeyman jockey Robert Winston in the saddle, he is preferred over the Tim Easterby-trained Boavista today.