held up towards rear, ridden halfway, soon struggling
held up, headway to chase leaders and switched left over 1f out, driven to take narrow lead just inside final furlong, idled in front and caught near finish
pressed leader, upsides entering final furlong, kept on but not pace of leaders final furlong
held up in rear, ridden 3f out, but no chance final 2f
chased leaders, ridden 2f out, strong challenge final furlong, ran on to lead near finish
held up in rear, switched left to outer well over 2f out, headway over 1f out, kept on under pressure inside final furlong
held up towards rear, driven along half way, no headway final 2f
in touch, pushed along 4f out, weakened over 2f out
prominent, ridden 2f out, pressed leaders and up sides entering final furlong, kept on but not pace of leaders well inside final furlong
held up towards rear, ridden and no impression leaders final 2f
took keen hold early, settled behind leaders hard riden 2f out, no extra over 1f out
made most, hard ridden 2f out, headed just inside final furlong, no extra
behind, headway on outside, under pressure over 2f out, no impression over 1f out
held up towards rear, ridden 3f out, kept on but never going pace to reach leaders
This course is amongst the favourites for Sylvester Kirk, who can strike with Just Fly here. Mamore Gap and the unexposed Petrosa are expected to throw down strong challenges, while Mister Clinton gets in off a feather weight and cannot be confidently ruled out. The admirably tough Hail The Chief would also have been given a solid mention had it not been for his moderate draw and, even though he is now 40lb lower in the handicap than when he was at his best, his last few starts have suggested that he will struggle to overcome the bias towards the high numbers in this company. Therefore, we stick with Just Fly, who returned to form with a solid performance at Kempton a week ago. This is his time of year and, as he is currently 6lb below his last winning mark, he has a good chance of exploiting the handicapper's leniency today.