towards rear, some headway 2f out, no impression over 1f out
tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, no extra over 1f out, kept on same pace
led, ridden and headed 4f out, weakened quickly from 2f out
steadied start, mid-division to halfway, lost place, not clear run on inner from 2f out, never dangerous
held up, headway on inner over 1f out, stayed on well inside final furlong to take 2nd, gaining on winner near finish
mid-division, ridden 3f out, weakened from 2f out
behind, some late headway over 1f out, never dangerous
started slowly, pulled hard towards rear, never a factor
took keen hold, held up, ridden 3f out, soon lost place and beaten
mid-division, good headway over 1f out, driven to lead final half furlong, ridden out
took keen hold in mid-division, ridden to chase leaders over 1f out, no extra and weakened inside final furlong
tracked leaders, ridden and effort 2f out, not quicken over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
tracked leader, led 4f out, headed final half furlong and lost 2nd close home
held up in rear, some late headway over 1f out, never near leaders
Yashin can get the better of Dagola, with Expected Bonus, Opera Knight and Shami others that may get involved. Yashin gained his first success since 2004 when scoring narrowly at Southwell seven days ago, beating Teutonic by a neck after leading a long way out. That 11 furlong trip was as far as he wanted to go, and although this race is a wee bit tougher, the drop back in distance should help his follow-up bid. Dagola was kept handy to score over track-and-trip here eight days ago and looked the part, but a previous outing over hurdles may have sharpened him up, and he cannot be guaranteed to put in the same performance. Nevertheless, he should go well and can give the selection most to do. Expected Bonus once beat Right Approach here five years ago when trained by Barry Hills, but those days are past him now. Mind you, he shaped well after a 481-day absence in chasing home Revolve here last time in a what was a slowly-run affair, and might make the frame. Opera Knight has been fairly consistent, while Shami has a good draw to work on, but all in all we prefer the claims of Yashin.
Dagola (IRE) 8-1 (8-11) Held up mid-division, headway over 2f out, led 1f out, ridden out, won at Kempton 1m 2f banded stk (7) pol beating Major Blade (8-11) by 2l, 14 ran.
Yashin (IRE) 3-1fav (8-11) Tracked leaders, led over 6f out, ridden over 2f out, edged left inside final furlong, stayed on under pressure, driven out, won at Southwell 1m 3f banded stk (7) fbs beating Teutonic (8-11) by a nk, 10 ran.
All Square (IRE) 25-1 (9-4) Led and clear, headed and weakened quickly approaching halfway, 12th of 15, 30l behind Otavi (8-4) at Downpatrick 1m 4f app hcp gd in Oct '04.
Artzola (IRE) 9-4fav (9-0) Started slowly, behind, headway over 2f out, ridden, left from over 1f out, one pace final furlong, 6th of 13, 5l behind Super Dominion (9-0) at W'hampton 1m 1f banded stk (7) pol in Dec.
Expected Bonus (USA) 7-1 (8-12) Behind, headway over 2f out, ridden to chase winner 1f out, ran on, 2nd of 13, 1 1/2l behind Revolve (8-12) at Kempton 1m 2f banded stk (7) pol.
Homebred Star 12-1 (8-7) Always in rear, never a factor, 11th of 13, 7l behind Revolve (8-12) at Kempton 1m 2f banded stk (7) pol.
Legacy (JPN) (10-10) 4th of 5, 9l behind Countrywide Pride (9-6) at Jersey 1m 2f hcp.
Opera Knight 11-1 (8-11) In touch, effort 2f out, not quicken over 1f and one pace final furlong, 4th of 13, 3 1/2l behind Twentytwosilver (8-11) at Kempton 1m 4f banded stk (7) pol.
