not fluent, narrow lead, mistakes 3rd and 5th, mistake and narrowly headed 7th, led next, mistake 12th, in command when left clear 4 out
tracked clear leading pair, close 15th, left poor 2nd, 4 out
behind, struggling from 12th, tailed off when pulled up before 4 out
chased leaders until weakened and lost place 12th, tailed off when pulled up before 15th
pressed winner, narrow lead 7th, to next, stayed challenging until 15th, weakening when unseated rider 4 out
held up in rear, struggling from 5th, left poor 3rd 4 out
Iris's Gift has not been completely convincing in his two races over fences so far and needs to improve if he is to justify his connections' dreams of landing this season's Gold Cup but he should be good enough to beat main rivals Zeta's River and Sweet Diversion in this company. The conditions of this race mean that the selection does not have to give weight away to either of his main market rivals, of which Zeta's River could prove to be the biggest threat provided that he is fit enough for his return. Unleash lowered the colours of Bold Bishop at Worcester last time and has to be respected but is not certain to stay this longer trip, while You Owe Me is likely to find this tougher than the race that he won at Worcester when last seen in May. Nick Junior is lightly raced and open to improvement, while point-to-point winner Murphy's Magic lacks any experience of racing under Rules. Iris's Gift is a classy performer over hurdles and is expected to take top rank among the novice chasers this term. If he is to do that, Jonjo O'Neill's gelding will need to dispose of his rivals today and he should be capable of that.
Iris's Gift 8-11fav (11-10) Made all, ridden approaching 2 out, stayed on, won at Bangor 2m 4f nov chs (C) gs beating Montgermont (11-0) by 4l, 7 ran.
Sweet Diversion (IRE) 11-4 (11-7) Prominent, chased winner from 6th, kept on well under pressure from 2 out, 2nd of 6, 4l behind Iris's Gift (10-13) at Market Rasen 2m 6f nov chs (B) gd in Sept.
Zeta's River (IRE) 7-1 (9-9) Held up in rear, headway 17th, mistake 4 out, 6th and held when saddle slipped 3 out, kept on, 7th of 19, 19l behind Jack High (10-0) at Sandown 3m 5f hcp chs Grd 3 (A) gs in Apr.
Nick Junior (IRE) 10-3 (11-2) Mid-division, headway 7th, led 16th, left well clear 2 out, easily, won at Southwell 3m 2f mdn chs (E) gd in Jul beating Farington Lodge (11-2) by 25l, 12 ran.
You Owe Me (IRE) 3-1 (11-0) Prominent, hit 10th, led approaching 11th, ridden when left clear 2 out, driven out, won at Uttoxeter 2m 5f nov chs (D) gd in May beating Kercabellec (10-7) by a distance, 9 ran.
Murphy's Magic (IRE) 4-6fav (12-5) won at Kingston Blount 3m ptp gf in May beating I Am Convinced (12-5) by a nk, 3 ran.
Unleash (USA) 5-2 (10-12) Held up rear, headway when mistake 4 out, stayed on from next, led close home, won at Worcester 2m 4f beg chs (E) gf in Aug beating Bold Bishop (10-12) by 2l, 9 ran.
