chased leaders, driven and effort over 2f out, soon ridden, no extra inside final furlong, lost 3rd towards finish
behind, outpaced 3f out, ridden 2f out, stayed on under pressure final furlong, went 3rd and edged left towards finish, no impression with leading pair
chased leaders, outpaced over 2f out, soon ridden and no impression
chased leaders on outside, ridden to challenge over 1f out, kept on until no extra well inside final furlong
soon led, ridden and headed well over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
raced keenly, tracked leader, driven to lead well over 1f out, ridden and edged right inside final furlong, kept on well
behind, outpaced over 3f out, never able to challenge
Despite having never won off a mark this high, MIDNIGHT FANTASY should be able to follow up on his last time out victory with Hi Shinko and Al Sabaheya likely to mount a strong challenge. The Rae Guest-trained selection is up five pounds for nice success over a well handicapped subsequent winner last time. The way he stayed on that day suggests this step up in trip should suit so another bold bid is expected. Hi Shinko looks well weighted at a pound below his last winning mark but Rod Millman's charge has failed to take advantage of similarly good terms recently when getting caught late on. Al Sabaheya is now below the rating that saw him just beaten by Mirrored at Sandown in May. That form reads quite well in the context of this race so he should go well here. Silent Hero still looks heavy in the handicap despite weight removed for his poor run last time so in a small field but tricky handicap Midnight Fantasy is taken to land the double.
Al Sabaheya 20-1 (9-5) Tracked leaders, ridden 2f out, edged left and weakened final furlong, 8th of 14, 8l behind Glen Molly (9-5) at Newmarket 7f 3yo hcp 0-90 (3) gd in Aug.
Silent Hero 5-1 (9-4) Dwelt, raced wide and towards rear, never able to challenge, 10th of 14, 12l behind Luscivious (9-6) at Southwell 6f hcp 0-85 (4) fbs in Jul.
Steel Free (IRE) 13-2 (9-5) Held up, pushed along when slightly short of room on inner inside final 3f, driven and beaten 2f out, 6th of 9, 7l behind Sarasota Sunshine (9-0) at Kempton 7f 3yo fll hcp 0-80 (4) pol in Aug.
Midnight Fantasy 11-4 (9-7) Chased leaders, driven and outpaced halfway, ridden and headway over 1f out, stayed on under pressure to lead final 100 yards, won at Newcastle 6f fll hcp (5) gf in Aug beating Who's Shirl (8-4) by 1/2l, 7 ran.
Aurora Sky (IRE) 16-1 (9-3) Slowly into stride, rapid headway to lead after 1f, clear halfway, ridden and headed over 2f out, weakened quickly, last of 10, 21l behind Striding Edge (9-5) at Kempton 1m Apprentice Handicap (0-75) (3yo) (5) pol in Aug.
Hi Shinko 5-1 (9-1) Led, edged right over 2f out, headed inside final furlong, kept on, 3rd of 7, 3/4l behind Hand Painted (9-3) at Folkestone 7f 3yo hcp 0-80 (4) gf in Aug.
Summers Target (USA) 10-1 (9-4) Slowly into stride, held up in rear, raced keenly, hung left over 2f out, always behind, 11th of 12, 15l behind Fajita (9-3) at Newmarket 7f 3yo clm (5) gf in Aug.
