in touch, ridden and effort over 2f out, stayed on well to lead inside final furlong
towards rear, never dangerous
led, clear halfway, ridden 3f out, headed over 1f out, no extra final furlong
mid-division, headway over 3f out, effort over 2f out, no extra final furlong
in touch, headway over 3f out, led over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra
held up in rear, pushed along and headway 3f out, ridden and effort 2f out, kept on one pace final furlong
missed break, soon mid division, weakened over 4f out
mid-division, out paced over 3f out, stayed on same pace from over 1f out
track leader, ridden 4f out, weakened 3f out
This looks to be a good opportunity for African Sahara to gain compensation for a near miss at Doncaster last time and he is taken to hold too much for the likes of Stallone and Hartshead if this develops into a dash for the line. The selection would be giving plenty of weight away to all bar Retirement if this were a handicap and, as that rival has shown little in his two outings this term, he should be able to make the most of his chance to exploit the terms of the race. Stallone has the ability to go close but is an unpredictable sort. So Hartshead, who is still open to improvement, is taken to give African Sahara the most to think about.