held up towards rear, closer in mid-division at 6th, headway out wide chasing leaders before 11th, hit 4 out, ridden and went 2nd before 2 out, weakened into 3rd run-in
held up and always towards rear, never a factor, tailed off and pulled up before 3 out
off the pace in last pair, never a factor, tailed off
held up in mid-division, headway chasing leaders 7th, weakened 2 out
mid-division, lost place and towards rear 5th, hit 10th, never on terms after
chased leaders, lost place before 6th, rallied chasing leaders 10th, went 2nd on inside 4 out, lost 2nd before 2 out, rallied into 2nd again run-in, stayed on same pace, no chance with winner
never far away in 5th place, went 2nd at 7th, led 11th, made rest, over 3 lengths ahead at the last, driven and stayed on well run-in
chased leaders on inside, lost place before 11th, never dangerous after, plugged on
led, hit 8th, headed 11th and lost 2nd, chased leaders, ridden and weakening when blundered badly 4 out, no chance after
raced keenly, chased leader until 7th, chased leaders, went 2nd again 11th until 4 out, chased leaders, weakened and hit 3 out
in rear, tailed off and pulled up before 4 out
Ami Desbois beat Give Me A Copper, who runs in the previous race, over 3m at Newbury but may not have the pace to dominate over this trip. STRATAGEM was pulled up at Hereford in January when Wagner beat Haydock scorer Cousin Pascal in receipt of 4lb. But was back to his best when beating Solomon Grey by 16 lengths at Ludlow and was trying to give weight to subsequent winner Not That Fuisse later at Warwick. He’s a specialist over this trip and the one to beat. Laura Richardson’s Eeze A Saint is still something of an unknown quantity and could go well at a price if handling these big fences.
Across The Line (IRE) 7-2 (12-2) Disputed lead, headed 6th, pushed along 4 out, steady headway under pressure 3 out, weakened soon after, 4th of 5, 27l behind Clear The Runway (11-6) at Southwell 2m hcp (4) gd in Mar.
Cousin Pascal (FR) 8-1 (12-0) Led, joined 5th, headed narrowly 7th, disputed lead 9th, led outright 11th (foinavon), blundered 14th and headed, upsides 3 out, lost place 2 out and ridden, faded from last, 5th of 23, 30 1/4l behind Latenightpass (12-0) at Aintree 2m 5f (2) gs in Apr.
Peacocks Secret (IRE) (11-10) (cp) (xnb) walked over, won at Dingley 2m 4f gd in Apr.
Stratagem (FR) 10-11fav (12-6) Raced in close 3rd on inside, went 2nd before 8th, 2 lengths ahead at the last, headed and not pace of winner inside final 100 yards, 2nd of 4, 3/4l behind Not That Fuisse (12-2) at Warwick 2m 4f (6) gd in Mar.
Wagner (IRE) 11-10fav (12-6) Handy early, slow jump 1st and dropped to 3rd, pushed along 2 out, kept on one pace, never on terms with front pair, 3rd of 5, 4 3/4l behind Bletchley Castle (11-12) at Ludlow 2m 4f (4) gd in Mar.
Ami Desbois (FR) 10-3fav (11-12) Raced in 3rd early, tracked leader after 2nd, led going well over 4 out, ridden and extended lead after 2 out, clear before last, idled and reduced lead flat, always holding on, won at Newbury 2m 7f (6) gs in Apr beating Give Me A Copper (11-12) by 2 1/4l, 9 ran.
Solomon Grey (FR) 10-11fav (11-12) Jumped well, tracked clear leader, closer at 5th, led 15th, clear before 4 out, easily, won at Ludlow 3m (4) gd in Apr beating Bletchley Castle (12-2) by dist, 3 ran.
Clondaw Westie (IRE) 40-1 (12-0) Prominent, close up 5th, disputed lead when not fluent 9th, close up in 2nd when unseated 12th (canal turn), at Aintree 2m 5f (2) gs in Apr.
Eeze A Saint (FR) 4-1 (12-0) (h) (tt) made all; unchall, won at Bitterley 3m gd in Apr beating Master Sunrise (12-3) by 22l, 6 ran.
Midnight Cowboy 13-2 (11-12) Led and soon clear with one other, headed 7th, tracked leader, led again 13th, ridden and headed approaching last, lost 2nd towards finish, 3rd of 5, 5 1/4l behind Not That Fuisse (12-6) at Fakenham 3m (5) gd in Apr.
Pointed And Sharp (IRE) 33-1 (11-12) Mistakes and jumped left, raced in 3rd until lost place 8th, dropped to rear and mistake 11th, tailed off 4 out, pulled up before the last, at Kempton 2m 4f (5) gd in Apr.
