led early, chased leader until over 3f out, ridden over 2f out, weakened entering final furlong
soon led, ridden over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, soon weakened
held up in touch, ridden over 1f out, one pace inside final furlong
tracked leaders and keen, ridden over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong
chased leaders, went 2nd over 3f out, every chance inside final furlong, not quicken towards finish
in rear, headway over 1f out, soon ridden, led inside final furlong, stayed on well
A surprisingly sparse turnout in view of the prize money on offer but for the winner we are with SAXBY with Russian Davis and Cafe Greco likely to pose most problems. Mick Channon's inmate seemed to benefit from a switch to front-running tactics at Epsom last time and while ultimately they did not quite get him home, he hails from a family that tend to improve for their racing and if the others dawdle, this race is there for the pinching. Russian Davis represents a yard that have done well with their sprinters this season. A 9lb rise for a recent success at Kempton shows little mercy on the handicapper's part though Kieren Fallon is aboard this evening. Cafe Greco is on handicap debut. Given the strong sprint led nature of his pedigree, it is something of a surprise that connections persist over this far. Thomas Baines has been on the go for some time while Electric City and Al Khimiya do not appear too well-handicapped unless market confidence in either suggests otherwise. All can be given chances though Saxby seems to have more ticks in the right boxes from a formbook perspective.
Electric City (IRE) 9-4 (8-4) Tracked leaders, weakened inside final furlong, 4th of 10, 5l behind Hold On Tiger (8-13) at Ayr 6f 2yo mdn aut (5) sft in Aug.
Cafe Greco 11-2 (9-3) Led early, tracked leader, weakened 2f out, 7th of 10, 12l behind Kavak (9-3) at Lingfield 1m 2yo mdn stks (5) pol in Aug.
Al Khimiya (IRE) 5-2 (8-12) Held up, headway over 1f out, kept on same pace, 6th of 11, 4 1/2l behind Mingun Bell (9-3) at Warwick 7f 2yo mdn aut (5) gf in Jul.
Russian Davis (IRE) 16-1 (8-10) Held up towards rear, good headway between horses final 2f, quickened up well to lead inside final furlong, ridden and kept on well, won at Kempton 7f 2yo hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Aug beating Poppy N'penny (9-0) by 3/4l, 13 ran.
Saxby (IRE) 11-8fav (8-3) Led, ridden over 2f out, driven inside final furlong, headed final strides, 2nd of 4, nk behind Transfixed (8-4) at Epsom Downs 7f 2yo hcp (4) gf in Aug.
Thomas Baines (USA) 11-1 (7-11) Dwelt and went left start, soon chased leaders, ridden approaching 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 6th of 11, 8l behind Frozen Power (9-3) at Salisbury 7f 2yo hcp (5) gf in Aug.
