chased leader until 2nd, chased leaders, mistake and dropped to rear 5th, lost touch 9th, mistake 11th, mistake last, tailed off
led until headed after 4th, chased winner, ridden before 9th, driven and no chance from 13th
tracked leaders, went 2nd 2nd, led after 4th, hit 11th, clear 13th, mistake 3 out, not fluent last, heavily eased flat
chased leading trio, went 3rd 5th, not fluent and ridden 7th, ridden and no chance with winner from 13th, stayed on same pace from next
The top three here are all front-runners and though they may cut each others throats it's difficult to imagine either The Iron Giant or Graphex coming from behind to land this. THEMANFROMFRAAM makes a surprisingly quick reappearance after appearing to run out of steam when long odds-on at Fontwell last Wednesday, just two days after landing a handicap from 10lb out of the weights on the same track. Tim Vaughan must believe he is recovered and he's so well in that he should get back on the winning trail. Prolific winning point-to-pointer Fruitfull Citizen looks to have too much weight and Gem Mill has gone up 8lb for gaining a shock victory at Newton Abbot.
Fruitfull Citizen (IRE) 5-1 (10-12) Led, mistake 10th, headed before 2 out, soon weakened, last of 3, 23l behind Coolefind (11-13) at Towcester 3m hts chs (6) gf in May.
Gem Mill (IRE) 28-1 (10-2) Made virtually all, jumped right 2nd, ridden approaching 12th, strongly pressed after 4 out, gained upper hand near finish, won at Newton Abbot 2m 5f hcp chs 0-95 (5) gf in May beating Sumner (10-13) by nk, 12 ran.
Themanfromfraam 1-5fav (10-0) Led, hit 4 out, pressed soon after 3 out, ridden and headed approaching 2 out, driven and no extra between last 2, finished tired, mistake last, 2nd of 8, 8l behind Sovereign Spirit (11-2) at Fontwell 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-90 (5) gf.
The Iron Giant (IRE) 50-1 (10-9) Tracked leader, mistake 4 out, weakened next, rallied approaching last, moderate 3rd, 3rd of 4, 19l behind Hi Tide (10-12) at Huntingdon 2m nov chs (4) gf in May.
Graphex 40-1 (10-3) Tracked leaders, lost place before 6th, headway before 10th, soon weakened, pulled up before 2 out, in a race won by Kit Carson (11-12) at Sedgefield 2m hcp chs 0-95 (5) gd in May, 10 ran.
