race on outer to halfway, close up, weakened 2f out, virtually pulled up final furlong
raced on outer to halfway, held up, headway 2f out, ridden to press winner approaching final furlong, one pace and held inside final furlong
raced on inner to halfway, close up, ridden hampered and lost place over 3f out, no chance after
raced on outer halfway, held up in rear, headway under pressure 1f out, stayed on to take 3rd inside final furlong
raced on outside to halfway, held up in sixth, headway on outside 2f out, ridden to lead over 1f out, driven out,
raced on inside to halfway, behind, kept on final furlong but never dangerous
soon led, and raced on outer to halfway, narrowly headed 2f out, weakened over 1f out, eased final furlong
raced on outer to halfway, mostly tracked leader, led narrowly and left 2f out, headed 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
raced on inside to halfway, held up, slightly hampered over 3f out, pushed along and outfaced 3f out, no chance after
raced on inside to halfway, close up, ridden and effort over 2f out, weakened approaching final furlong
raced on inside to halfway, held up, hampered over 3f out, one pace and no impression final 2f
raced on inside to halfway, prominent, effort 2f out, ridden and close up 1f out, no extra final furlong
raced on inside to halfway, always behind
raced on outside to halfway, soon chased leaders, ridden 2f out, weakening when not much room, 1f out
Norton gets a tentative vote in a competitive affair in which Royal Prince, Thajja and Pango are just three lively candidates as well. The Terry Mills-trained seven-year-old showed that he still has what it takes when making all in a class C handicap at Sandown. The cross-noseband was left off that day, and he clearly enjoyed himself as he bowled along in the lead. We can expect more of the same today with Jimmy Fortune, who is so strong in the saddle, doing the steering again. The ground was fast when he won the Royal Hunt Cup here two years ago so there are no problems on that score and he should go well despite being one of the topweights. Thajja was having his first outing since April when down the field at Doncaster last time but remains a horse of potential and we have not seen the best of him yet. However, he is not as battle-hardened as some of these including Pango who has been in great form and was done by the draw at Goodwood on his last start. He should run well today along with Royal Prince, who has tons of ability but needs to settle off a strong pace. He should get that here in this company, and along with Grand But One who is highly-rated but plunged into the deep end here, is another worthy of a mention. Norton has seen it all before though, and his latest effort suggests that his winning days are far from over.
