held up towards rear, ridden 3 out, no impression 2 out
chased leaders, 3rd halfway, mistake 4 out, ridden and progress on inner entering straight, soon led, kept on well under pressure closing stages, all out close home
chased leader in 2nd, ridden to challenge entering straight, 2nd and kept on closing stages, just held
held up towards rear, slight mistake and ridden last, under pressure in 6th entering straight, kept on straight to 4th close home
led, mistake 4 out, ridden last, headed entering straight, no extra in 3rd closing stages, dropped to 5th close home
mid-division, 5th halfway, progress into 3rd 3 out, ridden in 4th after last, no extra straight
settled mid-division, 4th halfway, ridden in 5th before 2 out, mistake last, kept on straight to 3rd close home
mid-division, 6th halfway, dropped towards rear 5 out, ridden next, soon no impression
Jacksonslady generally performs at a higher level but her victory over the course and distance in July and her third place in last year's Plate shows that she likes this track. Black Benny was in good form on fast ground at the backend of last summer and a recent run on the Flat will have put him straight but Rogue Angel looks better suited by softer ground. Protaras is consistent enough and ran very well in the Munster National at Limerick while Aranhill Chief won twice at the Festival here in the summer, though he's suffered in the weights as a consequence. DOWN UNDER was winning for only the second time in 22 starts over fences when just holding off Cross Appeal at Gowran but the assessor has been lenient with just a 2lb rise and he can win again.
Jacksonslady (IRE) 8-1 (10-13) Held up, soon raced in 6th, under pressure approaching 3 out, one pace from before straight, 7th of 10, 28l behind Little King Robin (10-13) at Punchestown 2m 2f mrs lst hdl (1) gf.
Black Benny (IRE) 7-2fav (11-11) Chased leaders, 4th halfway, improved to lead 4 out, ridden 2 out, headed last and no extra, kept on same pace, 2nd of 9, 5l behind King Vuvuzela (10-0) at Punchestown 2m 4f hcp chs 0-130 gf in Oct '13.
Rogue Angel (IRE) 16-1 (9-10) Mid-division, progress 15th and 6th approaching 5 out, no extra from 3 out, eased, completely tailed off, 16th of 26, well behind Shutthefrontdoor (10-13) at Fairyhouse 3m 5f hcp chs (1) in Apr.
Protaras (USA) 20-1 (10-1) Held up towards rear, ridden into 7th entering straight, stayed on into 5th last, kept on run-in, 5th of 16, 2 3/4l behind Shanpallas (11-8) at Limerick 3m hcap ch gd.
Aranhill Chief (IRE) 11-2 (11-7) Led, headed before 5th, led again briefly after 4 out, no impression in 3rd approaching last, no extra, 3rd of 8, 16l behind Dushrembrandt (10-11) at Roscommon 2m 5f hcp chs gd in Sep.
Ballyfinboy (IRE) 50-1 (9-12) Held up towards rear, 11th 3 out, ridden into moderate 8th 2 out, no impression in 6th before last, kept on one pace, 6th of 16, 21l behind Shanpallas (11-8) at Limerick 3m hcap ch gd.
Down Under (IRE) 7-4fav (10-11) Tracked leaders in 3rd, improved into 2nd at 10th, disputed lead 4 out, ridden and led from 2 out, strongly pressed after last, kept on under pressure run-in, all out, won at Gowran Park 3m 1f hcp chs 0-130 beating Cross Appeal (11-11) by hd, 5 ran.
Cherryantor (IRE) 33-1 (9-11) Chased leaders early, soon mid-division, dropped towards rear halfway, no impression from 7 out, weakened before 4 out, tailed off, 15th of 20, well behind Aranhill Chief (10-2) at Galway 2m 6f hcp chs gd in Aug.
