Fifth Position
Fifth Position did well to finish third in the John Smith's Cup. He wasn't that quickly away from his wide draw, so he had to do a little bit of running through the first furlong in order to allow him take a relatively prominent position. He was still four wide around the first turn and he was three wide around the home turn, and he was still a little keener than ideal. He made nice ground among horses early in the home straight, but he ran out of racing room, he had to check, so he did well to pick up again. He had no answer to the finishing kick of Sinjaari who came wide and late from the rear, but he did well to keep on as well as he did to take third place, with a nice break to the fourth horse.
It was a race in which they went fast early on and in which the hold-up horses came to the fore. The winner and runner-up, Certain Lad, were both held up early on. Fifth Position did best of the horses who raced prominently. Fifth in the Group 3 Thoroughbred Stakes at Glorious Goodwood last year, Roger Varian's horse has progressed nicely this season. He was an impressive winner of a 10-furlong handicap at Doncaster on his previous run, and he stepped forward again nicely here off a 5lb higher mark. The handicapper has left him on his mark of 104, and there could be a good middle-distance handicap in him off that mark. He has run well on the two occasions on which he has run at Goodwood, so he will be of interest if he runs in the 10-furlong handicap there next Tuesday.
York, 18th July 2020
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