held up in rear, headway when not fluent 7th, kept on same pace from 3 out, never able to challenge
led until approaching 4 out, soon weakened
tracked leaders, every chance when not fluent 4 out, weakened 2 out
pressed leader until not fluent 6th, losing touch when jumped left 8th
mid-division, headway after 8th, challenged last, led flat, stayed on well
reminder before 1st, chased leaders, went 2nd 6th, led approaching 4 out, headed approaching last, no extra flat
jumped left and mistake 1st, held up in rear, headway 8th, soon ridden, beaten 4 out
held up in rear, headway after 8th, challenged 4 out, led approaching last and rider had tack problems briefly, headed flat, no extra towards finish
prominent, blundered badly and dropped rear 4th, weakened 8th, pulled up before 4 out
PLANET OF SOUND can make the most of the weight he receives from Twist Magic and Nacarat, whilst last years winner Ashley Brook can never be ruled out from the front. Phillip Hobbs' son of Kayf Tara was one of the top novices of last season and following a decent first chase run behind Free World, he then won two in a row at Newbury where his generally excellent jumping sealed victory. His Arkle third was a fine run, and he was perhaps undone by Aintree on his final start with the track not suiting. Mahogany Blaze is very consistent but despite the grand form of the stable it is hard to side with this fellow who hasn't won since April 2008, Oh Crick improved with each start last year but this is likely to be a tough few months for this second season chaser unless his improvement continues, whilst Cornas and Panjo Bere are closely linked on their novice form and each needs to improve to feature. The admirable Ashley Brook beat Mahogany Blaze into second in this race last year; he has more weight to carry this year and despite it looking to be a similar standard of race he is opposed. Nacarat must be of interest given the way he improved last season; Tom George's progressive gelding stays well and he has run well here before so a big run is expected. The fleet-footed Twist Magic is a standing dish in these races. He has plenty of ability however one would be hard pushed to say that stamina is his forte and despite his ability to handle the ground he is opposed. Stablemate I'msingingtheblues has done most of his racing on a quicker surface and there must be doubts over the suitability of the going, so with more positives than negatives, we are happy to side with Planet Of Sound to land his first Grade Two success.
Twist Magic (FR) 7-2 (11-6) Tracked leaders, led 9th, clear last, ridden out, won at Sandown 2m chs G 2 (1) gd in Apr beating Kalahari King (11-6) by 10l, 7 ran.
Nacarat (FR) 4-1 (11-10) Close up, led 3rd, hit 10th, ridden approaching 2 out, headed last, no extra flat, 3rd of 10, 5l behind Voy Por Ustedes (11-10) at Aintree 2m 4f Grade 1 chs (1) gd in Apr.
I'msingingtheblues (IRE) 6-4fav (11-7) Tracked winner, ridden after 4 out, every chance 2 out, soon one pace, 2nd of 5, 9l behind Deep Purple (11-7) at Ayr 2m 4f nov chs Grd 2 (1) gd in Apr.
Ashley Brook (IRE) 100-1 (11-7) Chased leaders, lost place 10th, pulled up before 12th, in a race won by Don't Push It (10-11) at Aintree 3m 1f hcp chs (2) gs in Apr, 15 ran.
Planet of Sound 10-3 (11-4) Chased leader, led 12th, headed 3 out, kept on approaching last, 3rd of 8, 14l behind Tartak (11-4) at Aintree 2m 4f nov chs G2 (1) gd in Apr.
Mahogany Blaze (FR) 11-2 (11-2) Held up, headway 4th, ridden after 4 out, chased winner after next, always held, lost 2nd near finish, 3rd of 7, 10l behind Twist Magic (11-6) at Sandown 2m chs G 2 (1) gd in Apr.
Oh Crick (FR) 7-1fav (11-1) In touch, hampered 5th, went second 2 out, took narrow lead before last, driven flat, ran on, won at Aintree 2m hcp chs G3 (1) gd in Apr beating Lord Jay Jay (10-5) by 1l, 17 ran.
Cornas (NZ) Evensfav (11-1) Tracked leaders in 4th, close 3rd when fell 5 out, in a race won by Let Yourself Go (10-11) at Limerick 2m 1f chs Grd 3 in Oct, 7 ran.
Panjo Bere (FR) 40-1 (11-7) In touch, hampered 3rd, ridden 9th, weakened approaching 3 out, 11th of 17, 34l behind Forpadydeplasterer (11-7) at Cheltenham 2m nov chs G1 (1) gs in Mar.
