tracked leader, ridden 3f out, one paced final 2f
held up in touch, smooth headway over 3f out, ridden 2f out, led inside final furlong, kept on
reared start, very slowly away and rider lost irons, virtually pulled up after 3f
held up in rear, ridden over 3f out, soon beaten
led, ridden over 2f out, headed inside final furlong, one paced under pressure
tracked leaders, closed up over 3f out, ridden over 2f out, no extra inside final furlong
held up in touch, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 1f out
held up towards rear, pushed along 3f out, switched right and effort over 1f out, kept on same pace
A competitive field for the feature race of the meeting, and Nuit Sombre just gets our vote ahead of Chetak, Nevada Desert and Young Mr Grace. The latter was a shade disappointing when favourite but only fourth at Beverley last time, but he appeared to go off too quickly in front that day so it would be no surprise to see him fare a lot better today. Chetak got off the mark in a Bath maiden last time out. Unexposed at this trip, he is open to more improvement on his handicap bow and should go well, although Barry Hills' runners do not appear to be in quite as good form as they were a month or two ago. Nevada Desert recorded a good time when winning at Beverley last time out and Richard Whittaker's gelding cannot be ruled out from just a three pound higher mark. But our selection here is Nuit Sombre, who was only just touched off when a close second in a competitive York handicap five days ago. Mark Johnston's gelding now returns to a mile, and he should appreciate the likely good pace here.