prominent, hampered and lost place after 1f, headway 5f out, ridden and weakened well over 2f out
soon chasing leaders, chased winner 3f out, ridden over 2f out, led inside final furlong, headed post
tracked winner until 3f out, weakened over 1f out
slowly into stride, behind, ridden 4f out, headway on outside over 1f out, stayed on one pace final furlong
held up, headway 5f out, ridden 3f out, weakened over 1f out
led, ridden over 2f out, edged right over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, ran on to lead post
prominent, ridden over 3f out, soon weakened
held up towards rear, ridden and headway on outside well over 2f out, chased leaders over 1f out, soon no impression
prominent, ridden 4f out, soon weakened
An interesting handicap here. Top weight Shami is likely to receive support with the champion jockey on board and having been dropped 1lb after being a beaten favourite over much further at Lingfield last time. This is the first time he has contested a trip as short as this and may just be rushed off his feet by a few of them. In a race with doubts all over the place it may pay to take a chance with Nimello, who has been officially rated superior to all his opponents in the past and still shows signs of some ability. Now fully 18lb lower than his best and with a course and distance win to his name, he can take advantage and get back to winning ways. Course and distance scorer Del Mar Sunset will certainly pose a threat, having had just the one blip on an otherwise consistent winter since taking his race here in October. Still on the same mark as for his last three runs he can again give his running and will not be too far away. Te Quiero absolutely loves this track and trip, which is worth a few pounds in itself. However he has gone up 13lbs for two c & d wins in December and still looks to be too high in the weights at present, and the same goes for Oscar Pepper.
