prominent, ridden over 2f out, kept on one pace inside final furlong
slowly into stride, always behind
behind final 3f
prominent, ridden well over 1f out, kept on one pace inside final furlong
led early, ridden over 2f out, kept on well inside final furlong
behind, effort on outside over 2f out, soon beaten
soon led, ridden and edged left over 1f out, headed near finish
The admirable Sharp Hat has consistently paid his way over the years but his latest outings have indicated that his zest for the game may finally be starting to dwindle. The drop in grade and return to the minimum trip should help him figure prominently today. But he faces no easy task off his current mark if the pick of the opposition can be relied upon to run their races. Hagley Park is closely matched with Sharp Hat after their meeting here in December and would not need to find much to uphold the form. She goes well here when she is in the mood and will be interesting if she is supported. Pure Coincidence is in with a live chance if he can run up his current rating. However, that is a big if, and he has not really shaped as though he is about to bring his long losing run to an end recently. The Derek Shaw-trained So Sober is typical of a horse whose early ratings became an insurmountable barrier and he was defiantly harshly assessed when he was handed a rating of 81 as a three-year-old. He now finds himself a remarkable 39lbs lower today and appears to be running back into form. His second to Jodeeka over course and distance last week reads very well in the context of this race and he will be hard to beat if he can build on that run.
