held up in touch, challenged over 2f out, led over 1f out, soon headed, not quicken inside final furlong
soon dictating pace, edged right and headed over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong
held up in rear, came wide entering straight, headway over 1f out, kept on same pace
took keen hold, held up in 4th, ridden and switched right over 1f out, soon switched left, not clear run and switched right inside final furlong, stayed on
held up in rear, ridden and bumped over 1f out, not trouble leaders
held up, headway over 8f out, switched right well over 1f out, led 1f out, ran on well
tracked leader, every chance over 2f out, weakening when not much room 1f out
Withdrawn
Augustus John is putting in some good efforts in defeat at present and should go well again but with his habit of finding just one too good getting frustrating we instead look for some value by siding with ZUWAAR while Leyte Gulf is on form and is still under a competitive weight in this one mile five handicap. Hailing from a yard in form the selection is now looking appealing at the weights too at three pounds below his last winning mark. That win came over this trip and this is the first time since he's returned to this test so after some encouraging runs he gets the call. Augustus John missed out by less than a length when chasing home the winner over course and distance last month. Despite his recent good form he is still just a pound heavier than the last time he scored and he looks booked for another good run. Leyte Gulf is in some of the best form of his career and should be in the mix again under his current weight and the last time we saw Elite Land on the flat he scored so based on that is in with a shot at the prizes. It's a tricky race to judge which sends us on a quest for value where we find Zuwaar.
Calculating (IRE) 9-2 (8-11) Slowly into stride, held up, pushed along 5f out, never on terms, 7th of 11, 15l behind Clear Reef (10-0) at Southwell 1m 6f hcp 0-85 (4) fbs in Dec.
Zuwaar 9-2 (9-10) Led, ridden over 2f out, headed over 1f out, soon one pace, 4th of 7, 7l behind Calculating (9-0) at Southwell 2m hcp 0-75 (5) fbs in Dec.
Estate 10-1 (8-11) Chased leaders, driven 4f out, ridden and lost place over 2f out, soon weakened, 7th of 8, 16l behind Brett Vale (9-0) at Kempton 2m hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Dec.
Accompanist 16-1 (9-6) Chased leaders, pushed along 3f out, ridden and one pace final 2f, 5th of 12, 3 1/2l behind King Red (9-11) at Wolverhampton 1m 6f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Dec.
Elite Land 2-1fav (9-9) Held up behind, smooth headway over 4f out, led and quickened over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, stayed on final furlong, won at Catterick 1m 6f hcp 0-65 (6) gf in Sep beating Park's Prodigy (8-13) by 1 1/4l, 10 ran.
Leyte Gulf (USA) 7-4fav (9-3) Keen, in rear, but in touch, smooth headway to track winner going well over 3f out, ridden, hung left, found nil over 1f out, lost 2nd post, 3rd of 5, 2 3/4l behind Follow The Dream (8-10) at Southwell 1m 6f hcp 0-75 (5) fbs in Dec.
Heredias (GER) (9-0) 2nd of 7, 4l behind Larello (8-13) at Munich(GER) 1m 3f 3yo stk gd in Jul.
Carlton Scroop (FR) 5-1 (9-4) Mid-division, headway on inside from over 1f out, driven to lead inside final furlong, ran on, won at Lingfield 1m 4f hcp 0-60 (6) pol in Mar beating Pelham Crescent (9-3) by 1 1/4l, 13 ran.
Augustus John (IRE) 7-1 (9-4) Held up towards rear, headway on outside over 2f out, chased winner over 1f out, stayed on, 2nd of 12, 3/4l behind King Red (9-11) at Wolverhampton 1m 6f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Dec.
