held up towards rear, headway approaching 3 out to chase leaders, effort 2 out, kept on under pressure flat
held up in touch, headway to lead 3 out, ridden out
mid-division, pushed along after 4 out, outpaced next
held up in rear, headway approaching 3 out to chase leaders, effort 2 out, every chance flat, no extra towards finish
led, headed 2nd, left in lead 4th, headed after 4 out, soon weakened
tracked leaders, led after 4 out, headed 3 out, stayed on to have every chance flat, kept on
raced keen towards rear, headway approaching 3 out to chase leaders, outpaced before next
always behind
tracked leader, led 2nd, mistake and unseated rider 4th
Nicky Richards has his team of hurdlers in fine form and so Celebration Town will be expected to make a bold bid to get the losses back, with the likes of Jolika, Powder Creek and For Your Ears Only out to stop him. Celebration Town developed an aversion to starting stalls on the Flat and took time to get the hang of the jumping game when sent to Greystoke, but he is getting better all the time and has now gained two wins, at Hexham and more recently Haydock where he showed much improved form. He was in the process of defying a 10lb rise in the weights when clouting the third last on a return visit to Haydock, and although not certain to have won at the time, he would have gone a lot closer. Celebration Town must go close here, but there are plenty of other possibles if he under performs, including fellow topweight Powder Creek who seems to be on the upgrade and will like the faster ground. Jolika finished tired when scoring over half a mile further here last month and should go well along with For Your Ears Only, second to the in-form Cordilla in testing ground at Carlisle. There is not much in it but Celebration Town gets a narrow vote.
