slowly into stride, held up in last trio, headway over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong, never going pace to reach leaders
chased leaders, pushed along and edged left over 2f out, ridden and hung badly left final furlong, stayed on to 3rd close home
steadied start, held up in rear, headway towards inside over 1f out, stayed on inside final furlong, never going pace to reach leaders
made all, in command when hung right and ridden inside final furlong, stayed on
held up in 6th on outside, pushed along and outpaced over 2f out, no threat after but plugged on inside final furlong
chased leading pair, ridden and no impression over 1f out, lost 3rd close home
held up towards rear, headway over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong, never going pace to reach leaders
close 5th on inside, ridden over 1f out, weakened entering final furlong
chased winner throughout, ridden and no impression inside final furlong, stayed on for clear 2nd
On to the Polytrack for the last four races. Saharia only just does enough to win and has been expertly placed to complete a four-timer. This is tougher but Shane Kelly gets on so well with him that another victory isn't out of the question. NORTH STAR BOY was racing off a high mark in handicaps last season and couldn't cope but it was a different matter when dropped to this level over 6f here as three weeks ago he made all for a very easy victory then followed up in a slightly better claimer at Windsor on Monday. He can go in again but Rakaan, just touched off in a handicap over course and distance in March, scored over 1m1f at Wolverhampton last month and has to concede weight all round. Elusive Hawk appears to be better at Southwell these days.
Rakaan (IRE) 9-1 (9-7) Slowly into stride, held up in rear, headway on outside over 2f out, ridden and no impression when hung left over 1f out, 6th of 9, 12l behind Lowther (9-3) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Apr.
Ertikaan 9-2 (8-8) Led after 1f, headed narrowly 2f out, soon ridden, weakend inside final furlong, 5th of 6, 9l behind Paphos (8-7) at Lingfield 1m clm stks (6) pol in Jan.
Rondeau (GR) 7-1 (9-10) Led, driven clear over 2f out, hard ridden over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra, 3rd of 8, 4 1/2l behind Marford Missile (8-13) at Folkestone 7f clm stks (6) gf in Sep.
Elusive Hawk (IRE) 50-1 (8-12) Slowly into stride, towards rear, ridden and well beaten over 2f out, last of 14, 31l behind Dr Red Eye (9-3) at Chester 7f hcp 0-85 (4) gs.
Flavius Victor (IRE) 12-1 (9-2) Raced wide always in rear, last of 10, 10l behind Poetic Lord (9-7) at Lingfield 1m hacp 0-70 (5) pol in Apr.
Mahadee (IRE) 25-1 (9-2) In touch on outside, outpaced over 2f out, soon lost place and ridden, weakened final furlong, 8th of 11, 10l behind Embankment (8-13) at Kempton 1m hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Nov.
Saharia (IRE) 4-9fav (10-0) Held up in rear, smooth headway over 1f out, led inside final furlong, hard held, won at Wolverhampton 1m 1f sell stks (6) pol in Apr beating Satwa Laird (9-9) by nk, 5 ran.
Spin Again (IRE) 11-1 (9-2) Towards rear, headway over 2f out, one pace inside final furlong, 7th of 12, 7l behind Jonnie Skull (9-7) at Yarmouth 7f hcp 0-60 (6) gf.
Moment In The Sun 9-2 (9-7) Held up last, headway on inside over 2f out, stayed on to modest 4th final 100 yards, 4th of 11, 7l behind Cape Alex (9-2) at Kempton 1m 4f hcp 0-60 (6) pol.
North Star Boy (IRE) 7-4fav (9-7) Made all, shaken up over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, ran on, held on well, won at Windsor 6f clm stks (5) gd beating Noverre To Go (9-5) by 1/2l, 10 ran.
