led, ridden and headed 3 out, weakened and lost 2nd flat
held up in touch, went 2nd 6th, led going well 3 out, drew clear approaching last, easily
prominent, chased leader all until 6th, ridden and outpaced after 3 out, stayed on take 2nd flat, no chance with winner
held up in touch, not fluent 3rd, soon pushed along, well behind after 6th, tailed off when pulled up before 8th
chased leader until jumped slowly 4th, well behind after 6th, tailed off when pulled up before 8th
always behind, lost touch approaching 7th
Nonrunner
Easily the best of these on the flat, Romany Prince does not appear to be anywhere near as good at the winter game but may still be good enough to beat his main rivals Rebelle and Stagecoach Diamond. The last mentioned scrambled home in a maiden hurdle at Uttoxeter last time and is likely to find things tougher under a penalty today so a bigger threat is likely to come from Peter Bowen's Rebelle, who did little wrong when beating previous winner Fourth Dimension at Perth last month. The six-year-old looks to be going the right way and cannot be discounted lightly. The remainder look to be a pretty moderate bunch with Persian Point probably the pick of them but the vote goes to Romany Prince. A decent stayer on his day on the flat, the Steve Gollings-trained gelding has hardly set the world alight since being sent over obstacles but has still shown enough to suggest that he can more than hold his own in this sort of company and he is taken to resume winning ways.
Rebelle 6-4fav (10-12) Tracked leaders, led approaching 2 out, soon ridden, kept on well, won at Perth 3m nov hdl (E) gd in Jun beating Fourth Dimension (11-4) by 4l, 8 ran.
Romany Prince 5-2 (11-5) Tracked leaders, ridden to chase winner 2 out, one pace, no impression, 2nd of 9, 1 1/2l behind Woody Valentine (11-1) at Southwell 2m 1f hdl (E) gd in May.
Stagecoach Diamond 9-4fav (11-2) Mid-division, slightly hampered after 4th, headway 6th, hit 3 out, challenging when left in lead last, all out, won at Uttoxeter 2m 4f mdn hdl (E) gf in Jun beating Getoutwhenyoucan (11-2) by a shd, 14 ran.
Magic Brook 50-1 (10-12) Held up mid-division, ridden halfway, weakened 5f out, 8th of 11, 39l behind Lunar Eclipse (10-5) at Perth 2m nhf (H) gd in Jun.
Night Mail 100-1 (10-7) Towards rear, pushed along halfway, ridden and no impression from 3 out, 6th of 20, 32l behind King Revo (10-12) at Catterick 2m 3yo nov hdl (D) gs in Dec '03.
Protecting Heights (IRE) 25-1 (9-2) In touch, ridden 7f out, soon weakened, 12th of 17, well behind Sovietta (8-12) at Bath 1m 4f hcp (6) hvy in May (Flat).
Persian Point 12-1 (10-11) Towards rear, ridden, some headway from 3 out, weakened from next, 8th of 14, well behind Tandava (11-7) at Perth 2m 4f nov hdl (E) hvy in Jun.
