with leader, led approaching 3 out, headed next, kept on under pressure, not pace of winner
tracked leaders, led 2 out, drew clear after last, very easily (2 fences omitted)
led, driven 4 out, headed before next, rallied after last, stayed on
chased leaders in 4th, outpaced 3 out, rallied approaching last, never a threat
NonRunner
A winning hurdler in the French provinces, Zaliapour makes his chasing debut for new connections but it remains to be seen if he can run up to a provisional rating of 134. THE LAST DAY is preferred on these terms having finished second in two of three starts so far over fences including a narrow-margin defeat at Ffos Las on his latest start and Evan Williams’ charge gets the vote weighted to beat both Trongate and Vendor. The former carries a double penalty for last year’s successes while the latter and Pookie Pekan have difficult tasks on these terms.
Trongate (IRE) 10-1 (11-8) Chased leaders, under pressure before 4 out, mistake 2 out, stayed on into 3rd closing stages, 3rd of 4, 20 3/4l behind Dandy Dan (11-8) at Ayr 3m (3) gs in Feb.
The Last Day (IRE) 3-1 (10-12) Led, driven 3 out, strongly challenged last, headed closing stages, kept on, 2nd of 3, 3/4l behind Whatswrongwithyou (10-12) at Ffos Las 2m (4) sft in Jan.
Vendor (FR) 17-2 (10-4) Chased leaders, 2nd before 4 out until next, chased leaders, kept on same pace run-in, 4th of 11, 5 1/2l behind Movie Legend (10-13) at Wetherby 1m 7f hcp (3) gd in Feb.
Zaliapour (FR) (8-12) 9th of 10, dist behind Baby Des Champs (8-9) at Mont De Marsan 1m 4f hcp gd in Sep.
Pookie Pekan (IRE) 7-2 (11-8) Off the pace in 4th until 8th, weakened 12th, left poor 4th 3 out, 4th of 6, 26 1/4l behind Never Up (11-8) at Carlisle 2m 4f hcp (4) hvy in Mar.
