held up in rear, headway when switched left over 1f out, soon not clear run, ran on inside final furlong, led towards finish
chased leaders, ridden over 1f out, unable to quicken inside final furlong, kept on
chased leader, ridden to lead over 1f out, stayed on, headed towards finish
raced keenly, led, edged right and headed over 1f out, no extra well inside final furlong
held up in 4th, effort final bend, outpaced over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
The Crisfords’ yard is in flying form and FIGURES forced a dead-heat for first at Kempton to complete a double. There looks more to come now handicapping and she’s preferred to the returning Sharpcliff. The latter’s season ended prematurely after completing a double last summer and he is 8lb higher on his reappearance while The Thunderer and Rafiki also return to action and Rhubarb Bikini has something to prove over this far.
Sharpcliff 11-4fav (9-3) In rear of mid-division, headway going well 3f out, not clear run and switched left well over 2f out, further progress when squeezed through gap well over 1f out, closed well to lead over 1f out, pulled right away inside final furlong, eased close home, comfortably, won at York 1m 2f hcp (4) gd in Jul beating Baltic Baron (9-12) by 3l, 13 ran.
Rafiki (FR) 33-1 (8-12) Raced keenly in mid-division, ridden inside final 2f, soon weakened, 10th of 11, 6l behind Champagne Piaff (8-13) at Windsor 1m 2f hcp (3) gf in Aug.
Figures 6-4 (9-4) Led, headed over 8f out, carried left and led 2f out, edged left entering final furlong, soon edged right and headed narrowly, stayed on, joined lead post, won at Kempton 1m 3f stks (4) pol in Mar beating Seven Pockets (9-9), 6 ran.
Rhubarb Bikini (IRE) 10-3 (8-12) Led, ridden over 1f out, headed just inside final furlong, kept on one pace, 3rd of 6, 1 1/2l behind Arthur's Realm (9-7) at Chelmsford City 1m hcp (4) pol in Apr.
The Thunderer (IRE) 14-1 (9-7) Slowly away, recovered to rear after 2f, ridden and headway inside final furlong, nearest finish, 4th of 11, 2 1/2l behind Ivynator (9-2) at Wolverhampton 1m 4f hcp (5) pol in Oct.