Depends on my goals for the race and the time of the season.
When I was a cat 4 trying to grab a few more upgrade points, it was more worthwhile to be bored, sit in, and sprint for an okay place than to wear myself out trying to make the race awesome. I've done both - unfortunately the former was more effective.
But when I'm racing without thinking about lowest-common-denominator success, I prefer to keep my head up, attack when I can, bridge to promising moves, and try to make it so that the number of people getting to the finish line first is a lot smaller. It's harder, more fun, better for your body.