Race Comment Explainer

Original comment with matches highlighted:

led narrowly, headed 4th and remained close up, pushed along and 2 out,

Matched phrases & meanings

Phrase	Meaning
Pushed along	The jockey started to urge the horse (hand-riding, not necessarily using the whip).
Plugged on	Kept going without showing much pace.
Close up	Running very near the leaders (usually 2nd, 3rd, or 4th).
Outpaced	Could not keep up with faster horses mid-race.

Summary

The jockey started to urge the horse (hand-riding, not necessarily using the whip).
Kept going without showing much pace.
Running very near the leaders (usually 2nd, 3rd, or 4th).
Could not keep up with faster horses mid-race.