towards rear, pushed along 4f out, headway over 2f out, led final furlong, stayed on well
held up in touch, headway 3f out, every chance 2f out, no extra inside final furlong
held up in touch, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 2f out
tracked leaders, ridden and weakened quickly over 3f out, tailed off
held up towards rear, headway on outside over 3f out, soon ridden and one pace final 2f
led, ridden over 2f out, headed final furlong, one pace under pressure
Not a race that will take much winning and this appears a good opportunity for Valeureux to end a long losing sequence while Exalted, Dr Sharp and Thorntoun Gold represent the dangers. The selection has shown a consistent level of form over timber during the winter and put up a decent effort on his return to the level when a staying-on third of 18 in a competitive handicap over twelve furlongs at Pontefract last week. The five-year-old makes a quick reappearance off the same mark and the step up in distance should suit ideally. Exalted showed a return to form at Hamilton last time but this veteran is none too consistent and whether Tommy Cuthbert's charge can reproduce the same level of form has to be questionable. Dr Sharp was given an enterprising run to make all at Ripon last time but is open to further improvement and won't prove easy to peg back while Thorntoun Gold was far from disgraced on his recent comeback and will be sharper for the outing but looks weighted up to his best at present.
