chased leaders, weakened over 1f out
in touch, ridden over 2f out, kept on same pace
behind, hung right and weakened from over halfway
with leader, led halfway, ridden over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, ran on
behind, ridden over 2f out, one pace, no impression
held up, ridden over 2f out, stayed on final furlong
went right start, always behind, tailed off over 2f out
mid-division, ridden halfway, soon beaten
tracked leaders, ridden to lead inside final furlong, ran on
led, headed halfway, weakened over 1f out
slow away, always behind, eased over 1f out
slowly into stride, always behind and outpaced
tracked leaders, weakened over 1f out
Zidane put up a decent debut and can improve sufficiently to take this, with Tagula Bay, Dark Champion and Terenzium others to consider. The selection has been put away since May, when partnered by Johnny Murtagh, she just failed to land a Nottingham maiden. This slightly quicker ground should be in her favour, and provided she is straight enough after a decent rest, she can score. Tagula Bay is probably her biggest danger. Tim Easterby's filly has been kept going all season, but has put in some good performances in defeat. However, she is probably better with some cut, and her optimum trip looks to be the minimum, so we just oppose her here. Dark Champion will need every yard of this and has run well in defeat here before. He gets on well with his pilot and can make the frame again, while this first attempt at 7f for Terenzium looks interesting, given that he has been failing to see out a mile. He has a bit to prove though, and we take Zidane to score.
Briery Lane (IRE) 10-1 (8-9) Held up in touch, weakened over 2f out, 14th of 19, 11l behind Blue Knight (8-12) at Newcastle 5f hcp 0-60 (6) gf in Sept.
Dark Champion 11-1 (8-0) Close up stand's side, ridden and edged right over 1f out, ran on final furlong, 2nd of 16, 1l behind Flying Edge (8-10) at Ripon 6f app hcp (5) gd in Sept.
Luke After Me (IRE) 12-1 (8-9) Mid-division, ridden 3f out, weakened final furlong, 7th of 16, 14l behind Stellite (8-10) at Ayr 7f hcp 0-60 (6) sft in Sept.
Terenzium (IRE) 10-1 (8-1) Tracked leaders, hung left 2f out, chased winner 1f out, faded, 8th of 12, 3l behind Night Wolf (8-10) at Brighton 1m hcp (6) frm in Sept.
Zidane 9-4 (9-0) Always prominent, ridden over 1f out, every chance when edged left and bumped inside final furlong, ran on, 2nd of 14, shd behind Vanadium (9-0) at Nottingham 6f 3yo mdn aut (5) gd in May.
Bahara 5-1 (8-11) Chased leaders, ridden 2f out, weakened approaching final furlong, 6th of 15, 4 1/2l behind Rakata (8-11) at Salisbury 7f 3yo mdn fll (5) gd.
Westlake Bond (IRE) 10-1 (8-9) In touch, led over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, stayed on, headed inside final furlong, no extra close home, 2nd of 21, 2l behind Bow Wave (9-0) at Doncaster 6f 2yo mdn (D3) gs in Nov.
Tagula Bay (IRE) 5-1 (7-11) Chased leaders on inside, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 8th of 9, 17l behind Sabrina Brown (8-7) at Pontefract 6f hcp (4) gs in Sept.
