made all, slight mistake 3 out, went on from next, reduced lead final furlong, stayed on well on stand's rail closing stages
soon tracked leader, jumped slightly left 4th, a little slow 7th and pushed along briefly, pecked slightly next and reminders, jumped left and not fluent 2 out, soon no extra, one pace
tracked leaders, a little slow 3rd, not go with leaders from 3 out until headway from last to chase winner, closed final furlong, one pace closing stages
soon in rear, detached before 7th, not a factor after, tailed off
in touch, 5th after 5th, improved to chase winner last, no extra from before straight
in touch, 4th after 5th, slightly slow next and pushed along briefly, slightly slow 3 out, raced wide approaching 2 out where no impression and slight mistake, soon no extra
Henry De Bromhead has won the last two of these and Abbey Magic will make a bold bid to complete the hat-trick. A dual hurdles winner, he overcame problems to make a successful chasing debut at Kilbeggan then made all in a handicap at Navan where he gave the runner-up 26lb. BOOT CAMP was always in the front rank when starting out his chasing career with a victory at Limerick. He'll need to jump a bit better here but is likely to do so and gets the vote. Damut beat the smart Rashaan at Limerick in May but hasn't done as well as expected in subsequent starts but Stormey will have learnt from his debut over fences here earlier this month and is closely matched with the selection on hurdles form. Winning point-to-pointer and hurdler Whisperinthebreeze looks a nice recruit to the chasing ranks and is one to note for the future.
Abbey Magic (IRE) 5-2fav (11-1) Disputed lead early, led approaching 2nd, switched right to stay on right track after 5th, jumped slightly right 3 out, went on from before last, stayed on well, won at Navan 2m 4f hcp gf in Sep beating Sam King (9-10) by 4 1/2l, 12 ran.
Boot Camp (IRE) 11-8fav (11-12) Led and clear, reduced advantage after 2nd, headed at 10th, soon led again, headed 3 out, pushed along to lead narrowly before 2 out, asserted before last, kept on well, won at Limerick 2m 6f gd in Oct beating Lite Duties (11-12) by 8l, 6 ran.
Damut (IRE) 9-1 (11-1) Led narrowly early, soon headed, slow jump at 1st and soon 3rd, dropped to moderate 5th at 7th, trailing 3 out, kept on one pace to moderate 4th, 4th of 8, dist behind Presenting Mahler (9-11) at Listowel 2m 1f hcp sft in Sep.
Sweet As A Nut (IRE) Evens (12-2) Twrds rr of mid-div & ww, prog on inner 6out, 4th aftr 5out, 4th & btn downhill aftr 3out, wknd, 5th of 10, 14 1/2l behind Murdo Mackenzie (12-2) at Killeagh 3m sft in Jan.
Stormey (IRE) 16-1 (11-12) Chased leaders in 4th, left in 3rd after 3rd, not fluent 6th, no impression on principals from 2 out and kept on same pace run-in, 3rd of 16, 28 1/2l behind Voix Du Reve (11-12) at Galway 2m 2f Yielding in Oct.
Whisperinthebreeze 2-1 (11-10) Chased leader in 2nd, mistake 4 out, took closer order from 2 out and soon led, ridden and joined before last, headed and no extra close home, 2nd of 6, 1 1/4l behind Redhotfillypeppers (11-3) at Kilbeggan 2m 3f sft in May.
