chased leader after 1f, led 2f out, stayed on well
chased leader 1f, settled in 3rd, led over 2f out, soon headed, weakened inside final furlong, eased
led, ridden and headed over 2f out, stayed on same pace inside final furlong
Nonrunner
Andrew Balding's Inhibition was not surprisingly well held in the Group 3 Bahrain Trophy last time and should do better back in a handicap but a better bet looks to be BAB AL SALAM, who is preferred to Alainmaar. The Michael Jarvis-trained gelding found just one too good on his debut in a maiden here in August before opening his account in comfortable fashion in a Pontefract maiden last time. He is potentially well treated on a mark of 97 but faces no easy task against the more experienced Bab Al Salam. Gerard Butler's Elliptical should appreciate the return to fast ground on turf having disappointed at Kempton last time but he is far from certain to stay this far, while Rumble of Thunder has harshly been raised 3lbs since his latest effort when second to Prince Of Johanne. The vote then goes to Saeed Bin Suroor's Bab Al Salam, who has won all four starts so far and he can defy the 4lb rise for his latest narrow success at Bath.
Alainmaar (FR) 1-2fav (9-3) Always prominent, led over 7f out, clear over 1f out, easily, won at Pontefract 1m 2f mdn stks (5) gf in Sep beating Feathered Crown (9-3) by 12l, 9 ran.
Bab Al Salam (USA) 5-6fav (9-4) Tracked leader, led over 1f out, soon ridden, stayed on under pressure inside final furlong, just held on, won at Bath 1m 2f 3yo hcp 0-95 (3) fm in Sep beating Rosika (8-10) by hd, 5 ran.
Rumble Of Thunder (IRE) 15-2 (9-5) Keen, led, clear over 3f out, ridden 2f out, headed final strides, 2nd of 8, 1/2l behind Prince Of Johanne (9-5) at Sandown 1m 2f hcp 0-80 (4) gf in Aug.
Inhibition 33-1 (8-11) Tracked winner until 3f out, ridden and soon weakened, 6th of 8, 21l behind Kite Wood (9-0) at Newmarket 1m 5f Grp 3 stks (1) gd in Jul.
Elliptical (USA) 5-1 (9-0) Slowly into stride, towards rear, pushed along over 2f out, soon outpaced, 6th of 7, 7l behind Penitent (8-13) at Kempton 1m 3yo hcp 0-95 (3) pol in Sep.