held up when blundered badly and fell 3rd
held up, ridden and effort 5 out, soon weakened
made all, clear 6th, ridden approaching last, ran on well
cahsed winner, every chance 5 out, weakened 3 out
prominent, slow jump 2nd, reminders 5th, weakened 5 out
prominent, every chance 4 out, weakening when switched right after 2 out, soon one pace
The shortlist contains Imaginaire, Dangerousdanmagru, East Lawyer and Va Vavoom, with the vote going to Va Vavoom. Va Vavoom holds a fitness edge on all but one of his rivals here and he is entitled to run well off a low weight from his current mark. Raised nine pounds for his Ludlow win, Cosmocrat will find this tougher, and he is five pounds worse off for the nine-and-a-half lengths he finished behind Just Muckin Around when they met at Newton Abbot in March, admittedly on good going. East Lawyer's form is respectable enough given his current rating and he is respected, as is Imaginaire, who has been raised four pounds for his Huntingdon soft-ground win in March, a possible downside being his lack of a run since then. The going will also hold no fears for Dangerousdanmagru, an Exeter heavy ground winner when last seen in May. However, given his fitness advantage, we will side with Va Vavoom.
Cosmocrat 6-1 (10-12) Took keen hold, held up, headway approaching 4 out, led and mistake 3 out, driven out, won at Ludlow 2m 4f hcp chs 0-120 (D) gd in Apr beating Sky Warrior (11-12) by 2l, 11 ran.
East Lawyer (FR) 4-1fav (11-3) Held up, headway 4 out, ridden to chase leaders 2 out, kept on same pace, 4th of 8, 4 1/2l behind Encore Cadoudal (10-10) at Perth 2m hcp chs 0-125 (D) sft in Apr.
Imaginaire (USA) 6-1 (11-3) Close up, chased leader 9th, every chance from next, driven to lead flat, won at Huntingdon 2m hcp chs 0-120 (D) sft in Mar beating Chef Tartare (11-9) by 3l, 5 ran.
Va Vavoom (IRE) 5-2 (11-12) Led 1st to 6th, every chance approaching 4 out, soon ridden, kept on, no chance with winner, 2nd of 8, 6l behind Polished (10-7) at Uttoxeter 2m hcp chs 0-110 (E) gs.
Dangerousdanmagru (IRE) 9-2 (11-6) Tracked leaders, led approaching 4 out, ridden after 3 out, kept on, ridden out, won at Exeter 2m 1f hcp chs 0-110 (E) hvy in May beating Barren Lands (11-8) by 2l, 8 ran.
Euro Bleu (FR) 16-1 (10-7) Soon prominent, ridden and weakened 3 out, 12th of 17, 26l behind Ressource (9-9) at Stratford 2m 3f amt hcp hdl 0-110 (E) gs in May.
Just Muckin Around (IRE) 20-1 (10-0) In touch, hit 2nd, stumbled on bend approaching 5th, jumped left 9th, led after 10th, headed 2 out, weakened last, 4th of 12, 8l behind Dead-Eyed Dick (11-6) at Uttoxeter 2m 5f hcp chs 0-120 (D) gf in Sept.
