broke well, led to over 1f out, not quicken final furlong
soon outpaced and pushed along in mid-division, headway when not much room over 1f out, strong run, driven to lead inside final furlong
behind, headway 2f out, ran on well final furlong, nearest finish
raced on outer, headway and prominent halfway, weakened over 1f out
behind, hard ridden and no response 2f out
always well outpaced in rear
chased leaders, hard driven 2f out, weakened over 1f out
raced on outer, headway halfway, weakened 2f out
close-up losing place when saddle slipped 2f out eased final 2f
chased leaders, ridden to challenge 2f out, weakened inside final furlong
tracked leader, led over 1f out, ridden and kept on final furlong, not pace of winner and headed inside final furlong but kept on well for 2nd
slowly into stride, held up in rear, headway on wide outside over 2f out, soon ridden and no impression
chased leaders until weakened over 1f out
There is an excellent and competitive line-up for this valuable sprint handicap and many of the runners will have their supporters but the narrow vote goes to Green Manalishi. Looking at the field. Bonus won a Group 3 race at The Curragh last season but has yet to sparkle this time around. Smokin Beau is now rated ten pounds lower than for his most-recent win, which came in 2002, but he still has enough about him to go well here, and he is well drawn. The lightly raced Pivotal Point ran well in a valuable Ascot handicap last season and should 've sharper for his seasonal return. However, along recent narrow York runner-up Marsad and the in-form Willhewiz, he could have fared better with the draw. Million Per Cent is closely weighted with Willhewiz based on their recent Newmarket efforts and Caustic Wit comes here in great heart, having won five of his last six races, including the last four. However, he has an 11lb rise to overcome for the latest of his successes, which will make things tough. Green Manalishi is also in good heart and is just two pounds higher in the ratings than for his Newmarket win on June 19 so he too comes into the shake-up, as could be Arctic Desert if the first-time visor has the desired effect. The sprint king, David Nicholls, runs Watching, whose mark seems fair enough although the step up to today's trip could help, while Danzig River should have improvement to come but the jury is out on him now after a couple of down-the-field runs. Finally, Further Outlook ran well at Salisbury on Thursday but is unlikely to spring any big surprises at his age. As we say, it's very competitive but we will side with Green Manalishi.
