in rear, some headway 9th, weakened quickly before next
chased leader 3rd, led 8th, narrow lead when blundered last, kept on gamely flat, headed final strides
mid-division, weakened 9th, tailed off when pulled up before last
mid-division, weakened 9th, tailed off when blundered 3 out
led to 8th, weakened and mistake next
raced wide in mid-division, mistake 1st, never near to challenge
prominent, ridden from 8th, weakened next, no chance when hampered last
held up, headway after 4 out, soon chased leaders, driven and one paced before last
in touch until weakened after 3 out
held up in touch, prominent 4th, chased leaders throughout, ridden to challenge last, hard ridden flat, led final strides
in rear, reminder 7th, good headway to chase leader 4 out, weakened next
always in rear
never better than mid-division
prominent, mistake 6th, hard ridden and weakened before 3 out
held up behind, ridden and headway 3 out, no further headway
keen hold, close up, mistake 3 out and soon weakened
held up in rear, stayed on under pressure approaching last, never near to challenge
held up towards rear, effort to chase leaders 3 out, one pace and held when blundered last
held up, headway from 4th, disputing 4th and held when fell last
prominent, weakened and behind from 3 out
behind, under pressure from 3 out, kept on flat, no impression on first 2
in touch, chased leaders 9th, weakened 3 out
Martin Pipe saddles seven of the 24 runners in the finale on day one and will be hopeful that one of them can deliver the goods in yet another wide-open affair. The one most likely to is Ravenswood, who showed that he was coming back to form when a close second to Slooghy at Newbury on his first outing since Boxing Day. A back-to-back winner at Aintree and Ayr last spring, the son of Warning was dropped no less than 12lb by the handicapper after flopping at Chepstow on his return, but has not had the ground to suit until recently. Unfortunately, he was put up 9lbs for that Newbury run, and strictly at the weights, has it to do with Irish raider Farinel who reoppose on 6lb better terms than when second to Pipe's charge at Aintree. The likely strong pace will suit Arthur Moore's inmate who ran well in the Chepstow qualifier in November, and has since had a couple of outings over fences, while his last run was over a trip too short. His owner J P McManus landed a gamble in this race with Danny Connors in 1991, and has another string to his bow in Creon, the mount of Charlie Swan. Jonjo O'Neill's horse is hard to catch on the right day, but has tons of ability. O'Neill's challenge is supplemented by Ballylusky and Inching Closer, and it is the latter who makes most appeal, appearing to be on the upgrade when scoring on his return at Haydock last month. An 8lb rise is not too harsh as he looks to be ahead of the handicapper still. Royal Emperor has been a model of consistency, but Sue Smith's seven-year-old is there to be shot down with his front-running tactics, and may find conditions on the fast side. In a real enigma, the equally consistent and game Chopneyev should not be underestimated, providing he can handle the faster conditions. Hailing from the in-form yard of Richard Philips, he has done nothing but improve, and his second to Korelo as Sandown was made to look even better when Pipe's runner took the Imperial Cup at the weekend. In the hardest race of the day to solve, we return to Farinel as the choice, with the proviso that you back him each-way.
