in touch, pushed along 3 out, no impression from next
in touch, headway 4 out, jumped left and chased leader 2 out, ridden and stayed on strongly to lead towards finish
keen led, headed 3rd, tracked leaders, ridden 2 out, kept on one pace
keen in touch, headway 4 out, pushed along next, soon weakened
in touch, lost place 4th, tailed off
tracked leaders, weakened 4 out
in rear, headway 3 out, not trouble leaders
held up, ridden and weakened 3 out
held up, headway 4 out, ridden next , stayed on one pace
towards rear, not fluent 4th, fell 4 out
towards rear, headway when hit 4 out, weakened 2 out
close up, tracked leader 4th, ridden 2 out, kept on one pace
towards rear, hampered 4 out, never on terms
towards rear, pushed along 3 out, never on terms
led 3rd, ridden 2 out, headed towards finish
Nicky Richards has sent out two of the last four winners and Taking Flight makes more appeal than stablemate Wilhelm Vonvenster despite returning from an absence. Brian Hughes has a good strike rate for the yard but ORDER OF THISTLE is preferred. Bred for the Flat having cost 200,000gns as a yearling, he won a bumper at Sedgefield on a recent reappearance and should be bang there at the finish if taking to hurdling. Ebony Jewel landed a bumper here and is expected to go well now hurdling while Farran Dancer is a bumper winner in France and Richard Johnson stays loyal to Witness Protection as the latter tries his luck over timber. Old Jewry was placed over fences at Kelso last month and is another debuting over hurdles.
Ballydonagh Boy (IRE) 7-1 (11-11) Ld & disp, mstk & hdd 4out, dropped to 3rd & no extra run-in, 3rd of 11, 4l behind Fully Charged (12-2) at Castletown-Geoghegan 3m mdn sft in Apr.
Corrieben Reiver 15-2 (11-9) Keen tracked leaders, driven over 3f out, weakened 2f out, 4th of 11, 19 3/4l behind Ebony Jewel (11-2) at Ayr 2m (5) sft in Mar.
Ebony Jewel (IRE) 11-2 (11-4) Led, driven and headed over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 6th of 12, 31 1/4l behind Mcfabulous (11-4) at Aintree 2m 1f (1) sft in Apr.
Elu Secret (FR) (9-13) 10th of 13, 17 1/4l behind Fee Mano (10-8) at Nantes 1m 4f stks hvy in Jun.
Farran Dancer (IRE) 100-1 (11-2) Tracked leader to after 6th, in touch, driven and lost place when hampered before 3 out, soon weakened, tailed off, last of 9, dist behind Braid Blue (11-2) at Perth 2m 4f mdn (4) gd in Apr.
Largy Perk (IRE) 3-1 (11-0) Led, headed 7f out, ridden and no impression on winner final 2f, lost 2nd inside final furlong, 3rd of 7, 13 3/4l behind Equus Dancer (11-0) at Carlisle 2m 1f (5) gs in Mar.
Mannochmore 40-1 (10-11) Raced keenly, always behind, tailed off, 11th of 12, dist behind Shanroe (11-10) at Perth 2m (4) gs in Jun.
Old Jewry (IRE) 66-1 (11-4) Left 3rd at 1st, headway to join winner when not fluent 2 out, ridden and every chance before last, no extra and held flat, lost 2nd towards finish, 3rd of 6, 4 3/4l behind Newtown Boy (11-4) at Kelso 2m 1f (4) gd in Sep.
Order Of Thistle (IRE) 7-1 (10-12) In touch, headway 6f out, chased leader 3f out, ridden to lead over 1f out, ran on, won at Sedgefield 2m 1f (5) sft in Oct beating Dalkingstown (11-5) by 2 1/4l, 8 ran.
Portstorm 12-1 (10-8) Held up behind, outpaced over 3f out, never involved, 7th of 12, 20 3/4l behind December Second (11-0) at Ayr 2m (3) gd in Apr.
Schiehallion Ridge (IRE) 40-1 (10-9) In rear, pushed along and lost place over 3f out, last of 7, dist behind Big Bad Bear (11-0) at Perth 2m (4) gs in Apr.
Scullys Forge (IRE) 4-1 (12-2) Mid-div, 3rd frm 6th, mstk 7th, 2l 3rd frm 6out, prog bef 2out & chall bef last, ld under 100 yards out, so, won at Dromahane 3m mdn gd in May beating Profile Picture (12-2) by hd, 9 ran.
Taking Flight (IRE) 9-2 (11-0) Chased leaders, ridden and outpaced over 2f out, kept on and no impression, 4th of 9, 9l behind Equus Dancer (11-7) at Perth 2m (4) gs in Apr.
Walkin In The Rain (IRE) 10-1 (10-12) Chased leaders, not fluent 3rd, went 2nd before 4th until 5th, weakened approaching 2 out, 6th of 10, 29 1/2l behind Lucky Flight (11-4) at Kelso 2m (4) sft in Oct.
Wilhelm Vonvenster (FR) 7-2 (10-12) Mid-division, headway approaching 4th, not fluent when disputing 2nd 3 out, weakened from next, lost remote 4th close home, 5th of 10, 24 1/2l behind Lucky Flight (11-4) at Kelso 2m (4) sft in Oct.
Witness Protection (IRE) 6-1 (10-12) Chased leader, took keen hold, led 7f out, headed over 1f out, weakened into 4th inside final furlong, 4th of 11, 14 1/4l behind Shantou Express (10-12) at Stratford 2m (4) gs in Oct.
