tracked leaders, pushed along 2f out, no extra inside final furlong
steadied start, held up in rear, steady headway from 2f out kept on inside final furlong but never dangerous
held up and behind, headway 2f out, stayed on final furlong, never reached leaders
led, headed inside final 2f, wakened final furlong
took keen hold, steady towards rear, pushed along 3f out, headway inside final 2f, ran on inside final furlong,not pace of winner
held up in mid-division, driven 2f out, soon beaten
chased leaders, lead approaching final furlong, kept on well until not pace of winner and headed inside final furlong
held up in rear, kept on final furlong, never going pace to reach leaders
pressed leader, led inside final 2f, headed and not quicken approaching final furlong
held up in mid-division, headway over 2f out, not clear run over 1f out, squeezed through inside final furlong, quickend to lead well inside final furlong
held up towards rear, driven and no response 2f out
took keen hold in mid-division, driven along over 2f out and soon beaten
pulled hard, tracked leaders until weakened quickly aprroaching final furlong
slowly into stride, behind, some late headway but never a danger
pulled hard early, steadied into mid-division, headway 2f out, ridden and every chance entering final furlong, not quicken
An ultra-tough handicap where the selection of Jazz Messenger is made on the grounds that he is less exposed than the likes of Greenslades, Tuning Fork and Jay Gees Choice, who are expected to put up the most resistance. That said, Armagnac is holding his form well and is also capable of going close if the ground does not deteriorate too much. Others to look at include: Sawaah, who almost came good last time and has place claims if repeating the effort today, Kool, who is capable on his day, and Master Robbie, who is an old hand in this sort of contest and should again run his race. Stablemate Jay Gees Choice, who has dropped to a very handy mark, can be hard to get right but has solid claims if he is in the mood this afternoon. He has already had plenty of chances though and would not want the ground too soft. Tuning Fork has also been a difficult horse to predict and has taken an age to run off his restricting juvenile rating that made handicaps a previous impossibility. He races off the same mark as when third to Ancient World at Goodwood, where he had some very useful types in behind him. The underfoot conditions are a lot different today though and he may find at least one too good. Greenslades would have been a prime candidate for that role had he offered a more convincing profile at the trip. However, as a seventh furlong seems to stretch him to the limit, he too may find the selection has his measure. Jazz Messenger, like a number of his stablemates, has taken a fair bit of time to come to hand this season and may still have needed the outing when he finished down the field in a Listed race at York when he last raced. He has been given plenty of time since then and, as Gerard Butler seems to have found the key to what was troubling his string, Jazz Messenger can confirm the depth of the promise he showed as a three-year-old by kick-starting his campaign today.
