keen, chased leaders, ridden to lead over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, ran on
led, ridden and headed over 1f out, no extra well inside final furlong
switched right and soon outpaced, never troubled leaders
chased leaders 2f, weakened over 2f out
reared start, chased leaders, ridden over 2f out, led inside final furlong, just held on
slowly into stride, in touch, ridden over 2f out, stayed on same pace
with leader, ridden halfway, weakened final furlong
chased leaders over 3f
Nonrunner
David Nicholls is always a dangerous man to oppose in races of this nature and, with that in mind, Awake is selected to get the better of Massey and Pertemps Mangus, who head the list of dangers. The selection struggled with the handicapper for the better part of last year but still managed to force his head in front in a couple of much tougher races than this. However, he found himself on a restricting mark as a result and this looks to be a sensible route for his connections to take in the search for further success. Massey, a regular at all three of the artificial surfaces, has to rate as the biggest threat when the best of his form is taken into consideration. However, he is on a long losing run and appears to have lost a little zest for the game. The drop into this grade again could provide the key though, so a careful eye on the betting market is advised where he is concerned. Pertemps Mangus makes his debut at the track today and will be hard to keep out of the frame if he runs up to the form of his latest start. Even so, this is a tougher assignment and, with the likes of one-time Listed race performer Awake in the line up, he too looks up against it if our hope is revitalised by the new challenge presented by today's surface.
