THE AZURE

Five weeks ago, over this same distance, the performance was below expectations. A slow jump saw the horse settle towards the rear, maintaining a steady pace but showing some late acceleration. He finished fifth, beaten by one and a half lengths. This time he needs to carry one pound more weight and has drawn a poor barrier. The plan is again to race from behind, however, his finishing kick isn't expected to be as strong as the opposition. Despite having won three times over this course previously and showing comparable times to rivals, recent gatework hasn’t indicated a likely improvement.