held up in rear, not fluent 4th, headway after 4 out, one pace from 2 out, no extra flat
held up in rear, headway approaching 3 out, weakened next
with leader, led 8th, headed next, weakened from 2 out
tracked leaders, ridden and edged left after 2 out, stayed on same pace
led until not fluent 8th, weakened approaching 3 out, tailed off
held up in rear, not fluent 1st or 6th, headway approaching 3 out, soon ridden and weakened, tailed off
mid-division, headway approaching 4 out, outpaced next, rallied last, stayed on well, just failed
prominent until 4 out, tailed off
mid-division, outpaced 4 out, rallied on outside before 3 out, soon challenging winner, every chance when carried right flat, no extra towards finish
prominent, not fluent 5th or 6th, led 9th, pressed from 3 out, mistake last, soon edged right, just held on
Nonrunner
Lovcen, winner of the Grade 1 Sefton Novices' Hurdle over C&D in April, is the class act here but he will almost certainly have other targets later in the season. Eagle Rock is an interesting runner as he's been in excellent form in staying handicaps on the Flat this summer and was fourth to Grumeti over 2m here in the spring. His stamina must be taken on trust but he shouldn't be ignored. BUACHAILL ALAINN is on a hat-trick and is lightly-raced. He'll certainly have no problem with the trip and can show he's good enough to compete in this grade by landing this. Mavalenta won over 3m3f at Fontwell at the start of the month but Los Nadis struggles to stay this far and is still on a career-high mark over hurdles, though has won on the Flat recently.
Lovcen (GER) 8-1 (11-4) Held up in rear, headway on inside 7th, ridden to go 2nd approaching 2 out, led flat, stayed on well, won at Aintree 3m nov hdl Grade 1 (1) gd in Apr beating Fingal Bay (11-4) by 1 3/4l, 19 ran.
American Trilogy (IRE) 12-1 (10-10) Held up mid-division, headway before 3 out, left 4th last, one pace and no impression, 4th of 18, 3 1/2l behind American Spin (10-13) at Haydock 3m hcp hdl (2) sft in May.
Sir Kezbaah (IRE) 33-1 (11-5) Held up towards rear on outside, fell 3rd, in a race won by Action Master (10-6) at Cheltenham 3m hcp hdl (2) gs, 20 ran.
Bellflower Boy (IRE) 6-1 (11-1) In touch, chased winner from 19th, pushed along before 3 out, no impression, 2nd of 6, 18l behind Chamirey (11-0) at Sedgefield 3m 6f hcp chs 0-140 (3) sft in Apr.
Los Nadis (GER) 9-1 (11-11) Tracked leaders on inside, lost place before 3 out, weakened next, 10th of 15, 37l behind What A Steel (9-11) at Cartmel 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-140 (3) gs in Jul.
Eagle Rock (IRE) 33-1 (11-0) Tracked leading pair, left 2nd and with leader approaching 4th, outpaced 3 out, no impression when lost 2nd 2 out, soon no chance with front pair, lost moderate 3rd flat, just held on for 4th, 4th of 11, 24l behind Grumeti (11-0) at Aintree 2m 4yo hdl Grade 1 (1) gs in Apr.
Buachaill Alainn (IRE) 10-3fav (10-12) Chased leaders, niggled along after 4th, closed when not fluent 9th, went 2nd 3 out, soon led, hard pressed from 2 out, in command towards finish, won at Newton Abbot 3m 3f hcp hdl 0-140 (3) gd in Aug beating Scotsbrook Cloud (11-7) by 1 1/2l, 14 ran.
Mavalenta (IRE) 4-1 (11-1) Tracked leaders, challenged 3 out, led before next, edged right flat, ridden out, won at Fontwell 3m 3f hcp hdl 0-135 (3) gs beating Trackmate (11-7) by 2l, 5 ran.
Abnaki (IRE) 22-1 (10-10) Mid-division, headway after 3 out, led approaching last, stayed on well, won at Cheltenham 3m nov hcp hdl 0-125 (3) gs in Apr beating Water Garden (11-11) by 3l, 17 ran.
Ely Brown (IRE) 150-1 (11-4) Held up in rear on outside, not always fluent, behind when mistake 8th, pulled up before 3 out, in a race won by Lovcen (11-4) at Aintree 3m nov hdl Grade 1 (1) gd in Apr, 19 ran.
Liberate 3-1 (11-5) Mid-division, sprawled on landing 2nd, headway approaching 6th, went 2nd 2 out, about to challenge when jumped slowly last, no impression after, 2nd of 8, 2 1/2l behind Lion On The Prowl (11-6) at Southwell 3m clm hdl (5) gd in Aug.
