steadied start, held up, ridden 2f out, no impression
led after 2f, ridden and headed over 2f out, one pace
in touch, ridden 4f out, outpaced over 2f out, kept on inside final furlong
prominent, led over 2f out, ridden out
led, headed after 2f, remained close up, ridden 3f out, weakened over 1f out
held up in touch, ridden 3f out, stayed on to take 2nd near finish
held up, ridden and weakened over 3f out
Steely Dan gets the confident nomination in this handicap to round off the card, with Kashimo, Madhahir and Transcendantale the others for the shortlist. The gelding from the John Best yard has been in sparkling form of late and he returns to the the turf on a good mark and looks the one they all have to beat. Kashimo is back on the flat after an outing over hurdles, and he has shown enough promise for his new connections to make him interesting here, although he still has plenty to prove. Madhahir won well last time out at Folkestone when defeating Man The Gate, but this is slightly more difficult and he may not be suited by the drop in trip as his stamina is one of his strengths. Transcendantale is the other that could go well on the pick of his form, but his efforts tailed off towards the back end of last season and he is best watched on this occasion, so for the winner we will stick with the in-form Steely Dan.