in touch, pushed along well, ridden and outpaced approaching 3 out, kept on to take 2nd towards finish, no chance with winner
tracked leaders, went 2nd approaching 6th, joined leader from 14th, ridden and weakened 3 out
held up, steady headway after 10th, went 2nd approaching 2 out, led on bit last, shaken up to draw clear flat
tracked leader, not fluent 4th, pushed along and lost pace after 10th, tailed off
in rear, effort approaching 3 out, one pace from next
led, ridden after 3 out, headed last, no extra
This, the second renewal of this Grade 1 contest, presents L'Ami with a good opportunity to prove himself at the highest while young pretender Kauto Star along with Ireland's Beef Or Salmon certainly add extra spice to this small but select field. Of the others: Kingscliff can be fancied to confirm the recent form with Iris's Gift but last year's winner of this race is a difficult horse to predict. Ollie Magern - although respected - has a bit to prove after unseating his rider on his seasonal debut and, as he dropped out tamely in this last year; it hardly inspires confidence for only his second attempt over these notoriously stiff fences. Beef Or Salmon proved his well being with a gutsy verdict over War Of Attrition at Down Royal a fortnight ago. And a repeat of that sort of form would make him very hard to beat. However, his inability to impress when he has travelled across the Irish seas is too off-putting for a recommendation and he is reluctantly left alone on this occasion. Kauto Star has the capabilities to be a real force this season and, having impressed at Aintree on his seasonal debut, he is going to be very hard to master if he gets the trip. However, his potential will no doubt be reflected in his price and, as he faces proven stayers that will handle the ground, there may be some mileage to be gained elsewhere. With L'Ami making the most appeal today. Francois Doumen reports the gelding to be in rude health for his return to Britain and has stated there is more improvement to come from the seven-year-old. His bold jumping style will be a big plus for the mount of Tony McCoy and L'Ami is the likeliest candidate to exploit any chinks in the armour of Kauto Star.
Beef Or Salmon (IRE) 11-4 (11-10) Chased leaders, mainly 3rd, ridden 3 out, kept on to 2nd before last, challenged run-in, led last 100yds, all out, won at Down Royal 3m chs Grd 1 (1) gs beating War Of Attrition (11-10) by a nk, 7 ran.
Iris's Gift 8-1 (11-3) Chased leaders, led 4th, headed 6th, chased leaders, weakened after 5 out, 5th of 10, 30l behind Our Vic (11-10) at Wetherby 3m 1f chs Grd 2 (1) sft in Oct.
Kauto Star (FR) Evensfav (11-10) In touch, smooth headway to track leaders after 4 out, led after next, clear after 2 out, easily, won at Aintree 2m 4f hcp chs Grd 2 (1) gd in Oct beating Armaturk (11-1) by 21l, 5 ran.
Kingscliff (IRE) 7-1 (11-10) Chased leaders, led 2nd, headed 4th, led again 6th, ridden and headed approaching 4 out, soon outpaced, 4th of 10, 19l behind Our Vic (11-10) at Wetherby 3m 1f chs Grd 2 (1) sft in Oct.
L'ami (FR) (10-3) Always in touch, stayed on at one pace, 5th of 16, 7l behind Cybergenic (10-3) at Auteuil 2m 4f hdl.
Ollie Magern 9-2jt-fav (11-3) Chased leader until blundered and unseated rider at the 3rd in race won by See You Sometime (10-1) at Ascot 3m hcp chs (2) gf in Oct, 11 ran.
