held up towards rear, ridden and headway approaching 4 out, kept on same pace
tracked leaders, joined leader 13th, soon ridden, challenging when jumped right 2 out and last, rallied under strong pressuer to lead final stride
tracked leaders, led 11th, ridden approaching 4 out, joined 2 out, headed and no extra final stride
always towards rear
led, headed 11th, in until weakened approaching 4 out
prominent, ridden approaching 13th, weakening when mistake 4 out
held up behind, mistake 10th, ridden and headway approaching 4 out, kept on same pace
prominent until weakened approaching 12th, behind when pulled up approaching 4 out
Imperial De Thaix was a mixed bag over fences last season - winning his first two outings then failing to complete his next three. He was given a confidence-boosting run towards the backend and it will be a surprise if Martin Pipe has not got him spot on today. Satshoon suffered a back injury last season at Wincanton and spent three months in his box. According to reports he is back in good shape and he will be a force in staying handicaps this season. Whether he will be spot on today remains to be seen but his trainer would not risk him unless he was 100% so he is the TEAMtalk selection. Despite making a few mistakes, Handyman won well here last time out but will need to find a little bit more at these weights to have a leading chance today. Lord Seamus has paid the penalty for a wide margin success at Ascot last year and races today off a 20lb higher mark. He will have shown some improvement over the summer but expect him to be in the handicapper's grip now.
