chased leader, ridden and outpaced home turn, lost 2nd approaching last, never landed a blow
chased leader, pushed along and outpaced from 4 out, weakened 3 out
made all, jumped well, increased tempo 4 out, ridden from 2 out, clear last, stayed on well flat
always towards rear, never involved
in rear, not fluent 4 out when behind, kept on from 3 out, went 2nd approaching last, ran on well from last
Sabbathical has won on testing ground but is much better in quicker conditions as he showed at Leicester a couple of weeks ago. He's up 5lb and last year's winner DA VINCI HAND (NAP) may prove better value. He's mainly been racing over further or in better company and is taken to bounce back on his favourite track where he also won earlier. Elmount was a long way behind Sabbathical at Leicester and it's difficult to see a form reversal but Strong Team ran well when last seen over timber in November though hasn't been showing much on Tapeta at Newcastle. Dogem By Design has yet to reach a place in seven starts.
Sabbathical (FR) 9-1 (11-11) Raced wide in touch, headway 2 out, led next, ridden and ran on, won at Leicester 2m hcp (5) gd in Feb beating Letsbe Avenue (10-8) by 4 3/4l, 7 ran.
Da Vinci Hand (IRE) 7-2 (12-2) In touch in mid-division, mistake 3rd, headway after 4 out, ridden 3 out, soon beaten, well held 4th when mistake last, 5th of 9, 21 1/2l behind Trac (10-7) at Catterick 2m 3f hcp (5) gd in Feb.
Elmount (IRE) 9-2 (11-10) Prominent, led 5th, headed 7th, prominent, ridden 2 out, weakened flat, 6th of 7, 13l behind Sabbathical (11-11) at Leicester 2m hcp (5) gd in Feb.
Strong Team (IRE) 11-1 (9-4) Prominent, briefly disputed 3f out, pushed along inside 2f, ridden 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 5th of 8, 11l behind Bobby Shaftoe (9-4) at Newcastle 1m 4f stks (6) pol in Feb.
Dogem By Design (IRE) 28-1 (10-2) In rear, jumped right 3 out, ridden to go 4th at last, 4th of 7, 18l behind C'Est Quelqu'un (11-2) at Leicester 2m 4f hcp (5) gd in Feb.
