Race Comment Explainer

Original comment with matches highlighted:

prominent, led over 1f out, de final , headed well inside final ,

Matched phrases & meanings

Phrase	Meaning
Led over 1f out	The horse took the lead with about one furlong (200m) to go.
Stayed on	Continued to finish but without closing the gap significantly.
just held	The horse's powerful late run was not quite enough, and it lost the race by the narrowest possible margin (e.g., a nose or short head).
Furlong	Unit of distance; one furlong is 1/8 of a mile (approx. 200 meters).

Summary

The horse took the lead with about one furlong (200m) to go.
Continued to finish but without closing the gap significantly.
The horse's powerful late run was not quite enough, and it lost the race by the narrowest possible margin (e.g., a nose or short head).
Unit of distance; one furlong is 1/8 of a mile (approx. 200 meters).