held up, headway 7th, ridden to go 3rd 4 out, driven between last 2, kept on to go 2nd flat
held up towards rear, headway 7th, chased leader 4 out, ridden to lead between last 2, driven out
in touch, ridden and weakened 7th
led to 1st, steadily lost place, behind 5th, pulled up 3 out
tracked leaders, mistake 6th, weakened and struggling next
chased leader until 7th, weakened 4 out, pecked next
reluctant to race, in rear, fell 5th
slowly into stride, headway to lead 1st, headed and hit 7th, struggling next
mid-division, headway to chase leaders 5th, ridden 4 out, weakened next
held up, improved to lead 7th, ridden and headed between last 2, hit last, weakened and lost 2nd flat
Orion Express, Tiger Moss and OLIVINO make up the shortlist for the finale, with preference for Bernard Llewellyn's top weighted gelding. He's been showing some good improved form of late, winning a similar contest at Wetherby last month. He'll want a decent surface though, without much rain. Orion Express is turned out quickly under a penalty for winning last week by a country mile at Exeter. This is a step down in trip, which given the weight he's carrying is a positive, but he's still well below a previous winning mark. He's the only one in the field to have won at this distance. Tiger Moss drops in trip too, and keeps the cheekpieces on following an encouraging run last time out; lightly raced for a seven year old, she's been placed three times in her ten outings, but a contest at this kind of level should be within her scope. A trappy finale, with preference being for Olivino.
Olivino (GER) 16-1 (10-7) Mid-division, headway approaching 3 out, led next, just held on, won at Wetherby 2m hcp hdl 0-95 (5) gf in Apr beating Nothingbutthetruth (11-5) by ns, 13 ran.
Orion Express 4-1 (10-6) Held up towards rear, headway from 8th, led 3 out, clear next, not fluent last, ran on strongly, won at Exeter 2m 7f hcp hdl 0-100 (4) gf beating Paddys Honour (11-10) by 11l, 11 ran.
Magic Amigo 33-1 (10-11) In touch, ridden 7th, hung badly right after next, soon weakened, 4th of 7, 43l behind Forty Five (11-12) at Fakenham 2m 4f nov hcp hdl (4) gs in Feb.
Harlaxton (IRE) 50-1 (11-2) Tracked leaders, weakened 9th, pulled up before 3 out, in a race won by Rocky Ryan (11-7) at Fakenham 2m 7f hcp hdl (5) gs in Jan, 14 ran.
Tiger Moss 7-1 (10-9) Soon prominent, led 3 out, soon clear, ridden and headed after 2 out, faded, 4th of 11, 8l behind Synonymy (10-6) at Newton Abbot 2m 6f nov hcp hdl 0-95 (5) gf.
Doctored 5-1 (10-3) Mid-division, ridden and headway 3 out, outpaced 2 out, stayed on from last, 3rd of 9, 4 1/2l behind Tarateeno (11-6) at Wincanton 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-105 (4) sft in Feb.
Arthurian (IRE) 8-1 (9-12) Prominent, raced keenly, hit 5th, weakened approaching 3 out, 6th of 9, 31l behind Island Arrow (11-7) at Huntingdon 3m 2f hcp hdl 0-105 (4) gf in Apr.
Crystal Dance (FR) 10-1 (12-0) Lost tch 13; to & pu 3 out, in a race won by The Piper's Son (12-0) at Brocklesby Park 3m ptp in Mar, 9 ran.
Art Gallery 7-1 (10-12) Held up mid-division, headway 4 out, kept on from 3 out, 4th of 17, 17l behind Lady Wright (11-7) at Wetherby 2m 4f sell hcp hdl 0-90 (5) gf in Apr.
Theflyingscottie 10-1 (9-12) In rear, headway 6th, ridden before 3 out, weakened before 2 out, 5th of 10, 36l behind Cobbler's Queen (10-7) at Huntingdon 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-105 (4) gf.
