keen, in touch, pushed along over 3f out, one pace final furlong
always prominent, led over 2f out, ridden out
held up in touch, headway 2f out, effort over 1f out, unable to quicken final furlong
slowly into stride, soon in touch, ridden to chase winner 2f out, stayed on same pace final furlong
in touch, ridden 3f out, one pace final furlong
held up, never nearer
in touch, ridden 4f out, weakend well over 1f out
slowly into stride, towards rear, never nearer
Another really tough one to call as many of the field arrive here with solid claims on the pick of their efforts. However, it may be worth chancing the lightly weighted African Sahara, who receives just over a stone from the top weight, Gig Harbour, and plenty from the rest at the head of the racecard. Dumaran and Turbo are hard to split on their form at the backend of last season and it will be interesting to see if the market speaks in their favour, while Northside Lodge has promised to add to his tally on numerous occasions and will be a popular choice to make amends if his faithful have not lost patience with him. Whereas the well-bred Consonant is likely to be vying for favouritism if his connections believe he will adapt his style of racing to this track. This son of Barathea, a three-thousand pounds purchase for David Bridgewater after disappointing in his solitary start for David Loder, has suffered plenty of problems with his legs over the years and it may be prudent to watch the market before assuming expectations are high about him landing the four-timer in the tougher assignment on a faster surface. Therefore, in the search for value, we turn to African Sahara, who showed his mettle when out-gunning Moayed in a tight finish here a fortnight ago. Debbie Mountain's charge is a game and consistent performer and should be on the premises despite a 3lb higher mark.
