tracked leaders, led 10th, headed after 4 out, weakened next
tracked leaders, pushed along 14th, ridden approaching 4 out, weakened approaching next
led to 10th, chased leader, weakened 5 out, jumped badly left next
with leader, until pushed along and lost place approaching 11th
held up, hit 9th, headway approaching 13th, led after 4 out, hit 2 out, driven out
held up in touch, ridden to chase winner approaching 2 out, every chance last, kept on same pace flat
With her yard in such good form Lucinda Russell can claim another success at Carlisle here with Kerry Lads, while Hugo De Grez and Malek could pose the biggest dangers. A course and distance winner, Kerry Lads was one of two original entries for this race from the Russell yard, and with Strong Resolve having bypassed it to win at Ayr on Saturday, his stablemate can complete a double of sorts. He is only 2lb higher than his highest winning mark, stays forever and jumps well out of soft ground, and as this is not really too competitive he looks capable of producing a lifetime best to score. Hugo De Grez is the proverbial standing dish here with five wins from nine attempts at the track and he must be respected. Trip and ground will be perfect for him and he has also slipped back to a winning mark. However, he may not be quite as good as he was and Andrew Parker's yard are not fully firing at present so on that basis he is opposed. Of the remainder Malek receives plenty of weight from the selection, but he does have the tendency to make a mistake despite his ability, and he would probably want good ground to be at his best, so we take Kerry Lads to take another race here.
