held up towards rear, headway approaching 6th, mistake 3 out, led after next, went left last, driven out
prominent, jumped left, not fluent 7th, weakening when mistake 2 out
made most until before 6th, mistake 8th, 5th and beaten 2 out, weakened last
tracked leaders, hit 3 out, every chance next, switched right after last, kept on
mid-division, took keen hold, not fluent 4th, lost place when not fluent 8th, no impression 3 out, tailed off
held up in rear, jumped slowly 6th, weakened after 8th, tailed off
held up in rear, took keen hold, jumped right and not fluent, mistake 5th, headway approaching 3 out, no impression next, weakened last
pressed leader, led approaching 6th, hung left after 3 out, headed when not fluent 2 out, weakened flat
held up towards rear, headway 7th, led 2 out, soon headed, mistake last, weakened flat
Cardinal Rose won a Southwell bumper in April and has a jumping pedigree, while it will be interesting to see how Trafalgar fares on his first start under Rules. Distime, Manikon Eros and Jackson Cage have all won bumpers, and Barbatos has already shown plenty of promise over hurdles having been sent off favourite over this trip at Ascot on his final start last season. THEATRE GUIDE looked one to follow when beating subsequent winner Magnifique Etoile at Chepstow in April, however, and was just denied when sent off favourite for a valuable NH Flat race at Fairyhouse next time. From solid jumping stock, he could be the one to beat today.
Barbatos (FR) 5-2fav (11-0) Held up towards rear, steady headway on inside before 3 out, chased leaders before 2 out, chased winner before last, every chance last, strong challenge and upsides flat, just failed, 2nd of 12, shd behind Invictus (11-0) at Ascot 2m 3f mdn hdl (3) gd in Apr.
Cardinal Rose 6-1 (10-12) Chased leader, led over 6f out, drew clear final furlong, ridden out, won at Southwell 2m NH flat (6) gd in Apr beating Flite (10-10) by 7l, 13 ran.
City Press (IRE) 10-3 (11-4) Held up mid-division, ridden to chase leaders over 3f out, no impression, 5th of 14, 28l behind Royal Guardsman (10-12) at Fontwell 2m 2f NH flat (6) gd in Apr.
Distime (IRE) 100-1 (10-13) Led 1f, prominent, led over 4f out, ridden 3f out, headed over 2f out, weakened inside final furlong, 12th of 20, 25l behind Steps To Freedom (11-4) at Aintree 2m 1f nat hunt flat Grade 2 (1) gd in Apr.
Jackson Cage (IRE) 9-4fav (11-10) Led, ridden and headed over 1f out, no extra last 100 yards, 3rd of 8, 2 3/4l behind Granville Island (10-10) at Bangor 2m 1f NH flat (5) gd in Mar.
Manikon Eros (IRE) 7-1 (11-0) Prominent, mistake 3rd, under pressure 4 out, soon weakened, 10th of 12, well behind Rangitoto (11-0) at Chepstow 2m 4f nh nov hdl (4) sft in Apr.
Theatre Guide (IRE) 9-4fav (10-10) Mid-division, headway in 5th entering straight, ridden to lead 2f out, challenged 1f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra and kept on same pace, 2nd of 22, 1 1/4l behind Rising Time (10-13) at Fairyhouse 2m nhf gd in Apr.
Trafalgar (FR) (0-0) won at Avenches(FR) 1m 4f trotting race gd in Sep, 10 ran (flat).
Tempest River (IRE) 20-1 (11-0) Tracked leaders, challenged 3f out, led 2f out, ran on well, won at Aintree 2m 1f N H flat lst (1) gd in Apr beating Ceol Rua (11-4) by 2 1/4l, 18 ran.
Gleann Na Ndochais (IRE) 14-1 (10-9) Held up towards rear, hampered 2nd, headway after 3 out, weakened last, 5th of 16, 21l behind Stronghaven (10-12) at Kelso 2m nh nov hdl (4) gd in May.
Celtic George 9-1 (11-0) Tracked leaders, ridden over 5f out, weakened 4f out, 5th of 11, 32l behind Johns Spirit (10-13) at Newton Abbot 2m 1f NH flat (6) gs in Aug.
Medic Man (IRE) 12-1 (11-7) 4th of 10, well behind Flanshan (12-0) at Larkhill 3m ptp gd in Jan.
Tait's Clock (IRE) 33-1 (11-0) Took keen hold, hit 3rd, always in rear, never on terms, tailed off, 9th of 11, well behind Renard D'Irlande (11-3) at Folkestone 2m 4f mdn hdl (4) sft in Feb.
