led, headed and no extra inside final furlong
prominent, ridden 3f out and slightly outpaced, hung left 2f out, no impression over 1f out
prominent, tracked leader after 3f, effort over 2f out, soon ridden, no extra
steadied start, held up, headway and hampered 2f out, squeezed through over 1f out, led and quickened inside final furlong, ridden out
close up on inside, ridden over 2f out, kept on
A very tight race on the official figures and none can confidently be ruled out. However, a chance is taken with Nadour Al Bahr, who may just have the race run to suit if he is on song today. Gallant Hero will no doubt be a popular selection and has to be seriously considered as a threat to them all. But his outings this term have been a little below expectations and he needs to put in a much better effort today if he is going to figure. In contrast to Island House, who has already won over course and distance this season and is no back number yet. The David Elsworth-trained six-year-old is a likely candidate for cutting out the running and will be hard to master if he is allowed to slip his field. However, he comes here on the back of a poor effort at Ascot last time and, like Goblet Of Fire, has to reverse recent form with Nadour Al Bahr to prevail today. The terms of the race do not appear to make that a likely scenario though and Terry Mills' charge can bring to an end a frustrating spell for the locally based trainer.
