took keen hold, held up, headway tracking leaders 4th, weakened quickly after 3 out, tailed off
low head carriage, tracked leaders, ridden approaching last, weakened run-in
tracked clear leading pair, lost place slightly after 4th, rallied approaching 2 out, ridden between last 2, soon weakened
pulled hard, tracked clear leader, pushed along and lost 2nd before 2 out, mistake and weakened 2 out
held up in 5th, headway into close 2nd before 2 out, pushed along and lost 2nd between last 2, driven in 3rd and one pace run-in
held up in rear, some headway approaching 2 out, soon beaten
led and soon clear, narrowly headed but every chance carried right run-in, no extra close home
held up in last pair, hit 3 out, headway on outside tracking leaders before 2 out, 2nd between last 2, challenged last, led narrowly and hung right under pressure run-in, found extra close home
MINELLAFORLEISURE gets a speculative vote to bounce back. A runner-up in Listed company during the summer, he’s certainly better than his recent form suggests. Cyrname won over hurdles in France in January and we’ll have a better idea of his ability after this as he makes his debut for the Nicholls yard while Draytonian has been raised 8lb for winning at Warwick in April. A hat-trick proved beyond Eddiemaurice at Cheltenham on his recent reappearance and he races off the same mark here while Le Rocher was a smart juvenile hurdler, winning a couple of graded races, but has his first start since 2014.
Bertimont (FR) 12-1 (11-4) Led, headed after 3rd, led again after 4 out, ridden and headed 2 out, soon weakened, 7th of 14, 10 1/2l behind Cheltenian (10-13) at Ayr 2m hcp (1) gd in Apr.
Le Rocher (FR) 2-1 (11-7) Keen early, tracked leader, mistake 2nd, challenged 2 out, led narrowly between last 2, ridden and stayed on well to forge clear flat, won at Cheltenham 2m 1f (1) hvy in Jan beating Kentucky Hyden (11-7) by 10l, 6 ran.
Minellaforleisure (IRE) 16-1 (11-12) Held up in touch, headway 3 out, weakened after next, modest 4th, 4th of 7, dist behind Messire Des Obeaux (11-5) at Bangor 2m 4f hcp (2) gs in Nov.
Cyrname (FR) 4-1 (10-12) won at Pau 2m 1f sft in Jan beating Capferret (10-7) by 9l, 17 ran.
Draytonian (IRE) 8-1 (11-11) Held up mid-division, headway before 3 out, went 2nd before 2 out, led last, kept on well, won at Warwick 2m hcp (3) sft in Apr beating Clayton (11-11) by 3 3/4l, 10 ran.
Sea Wall (FR) 8-1 (11-2) In rear, headway from 6th, 4th and one pace from next, no impression, 4th of 7, 24 1/2l behind Disputed (10-7) at Plumpton 2m hcp (2) sft in Mar.
Favorite Girl (GER) 14-1 (10-9) Tracked leader, led 6f out, brought field to stand side over 3f out, ridden over 1f out, found extra when pressed inside final furlong, won at Nottingham 1m 2f hcp (5) gd in Nov beating Bollihope (10-12) by 1l, 13 ran.
Eddiemaurice (IRE) 16-1 (10-12) Held up in rear, not fluent 2nd, headway before 3 out, edged right and went 4th flat, stayed on same pace, 4th of 12, 9 1/4l behind Cliffs Of Dover (10-2) at Cheltenham 2m hcp (3) gd in Oct.
