chased leaders, ridden over 1f out, one pace final furlong
jumped right at start, tracked leader, pushed along 2f out, ridden to lead approaching final furlong, kept on
chased leaders, outpaced over 2f out
towards rear, never dangerous
outpaced, chased along to go mid-division, effort over 2f out, soon beaten
held up, pushed along halfway, effort over 2f out, no impression
held up, pushed along halfway, ridden over 1f out, stayed on same pace
set strong gallop, ridden 2f out, headed approaching final furlong, no extra inside
tracked leaders, ridden over 1f out, stayed on final furlong (hand-timed)
Nufoos has the class to prevail over the likes of Newsround, Yajbill and Sundance in this Listed contest that gets proceedings under way. Mark Johnston is obviously keen to land this prize at his local track, mounting a double raid with Nufoos and stablemate Joseph Henry, and although the latter lines up unbeaten, it is Nufoos who gets the vote. The daughter of Zafonic has already appeared twice in Group company, finishing down the field in the Cherry Hinton and more recently when chasing home Golden Legacy in the Firth Of Clyde Stakes at Ayr. She won on faster ground at Leicester in May so will appreciate today's conditions, and can pick up some black type here. She gets five-pounds from likely favourite Newsround who was impressive enough at Newbury to earn quotes for the 2,000 Guineas. Time will tell if he is as good as connections think, but he is going to be a short price here for what he has achieved. Sundance is expected to make up into a decent sprinter next season, but the ground here might be a bit on the fast side. Yajbill is very progressive but his wins have come mainly on undulating tracks, and it remains to be seen how he will act here. Woodcote is unexposed after landing a soft-ground Windsor maiden on his debut and will be fairly popular with Frankie Dettori's legion of supporters, but in a tricky affair we return to Nufoos as the answer.
