held up towards rear, raced keenly, headway 7th, weakened flat
jumped right, held up in rear, always behind, tailed off
in touch, pushed along after 4th, weakened approaching next, tailed off
in touch, chased winner 5th, mistake 3 out, nosed ahead before 2 out, soon headed, no extra flat
mid-division, headway 6th, not fluent 7th, weakened last
held up in rear, raced keenly, headway 7th, weakened flat
led, not fluent 3 out, soon pushed along, narrowly headed just before 2 out, soon regained lead and ridden, edged right and headed close home, gamely regained lead post
held up in rear, headway approaching 3 out, went 2nd flat, led close home, headed post
with winner until 4th, not fluent and lost 2nd 5th, weakened approaching 3 out, tailed off
chased leading pair who went clear 3rd, not fluent 6th, weakened next, tailed off
IKORODU ROAD will appreciate this longer trip and is preferred to the hat-trick seeking Presque Perdre and Royal Rationale. Matt Sheppard's charge was an unconsidered 100-1 shot on debut but made odds-on backers sweat when making Bakbenscher pull out all the stops. He proved that was no fluke when finishing a respectable third to Copper Bleu before having to work quite hard to score at Southwell. That track may not have suited this stoutly bred gelding who has been allotted a fair mark and looks a promising sort for the season ahead. Presque Perdre signed off for the summer with back-to-back successes and hasn't been harshly dealt with so enters calculations whilst Royal Rationale arrives fit from a run in the Cesarewitch and remains open to further improvement. Charlie Longsdon has started the season well and Trafalgar Road is relatively unexposed whilst French Saulaie cannot be ruled out despite disappointing at Chepstow when behind King's Revenge. As ever, the market will be useful with several runners returning from breaks including the selection Ikorodu Road.
Royal Rationale (IRE) 8-1 (11-10) Held up in touch, ridden after 3 out, weakened approaching next, 5th of 11, 15l behind Treaty Flyer (10-6) at Bangor 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-150 (2) gd in Sep.
Brave Rebellion 25-1 (10-13) Held up behind, struggling 4 out, soon lost touch, tailed off when pulled up before last, in a race won by The Polomoche (11-12) at Ayr 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-150 (2) gd in Apr, 10 ran.
Ameeq (USA) 16-1 (11-6) Towards rear, jumped left 3 out, always behind, 11th of 14, 14l behind Right Option (10-4) at Cheltenham 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-140 (2) gf.
King's Revenge 14-1 (11-4) Ran in snatches, towards rear and pushed along 5th, headway approaching 4 out, ridden and no extra after next, 7th of 16, 19l behind Dantari (11-1) at Chepstow 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gd.
Ikorodu Road 5-2 (11-1) Chased leaders, ridden 2f out, soon challenghing, stayed on to lead near finish, won at Southwell 2m NH mdn hdl (4) gd in Mar beating Kack Handed (11-1) by 3/4l, 14 ran.
French Saulaie (FR) 11-1 (11-2) Never reached beyond mid-division, behind 4 out, 12th of 16, 50l behind Dantari (11-1) at Chepstow 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gd.
Presque Perdre 10-3 (11-12) Tracked leaders, chased leader approaching 3 out, ridden approaching last, narrow lead flat, soon hard ridden, stayed on well towards finish, won at Cartmel 2m 6f nh nov hdl (4) gs in May beating Dais Return (11-12) by nk, 8 ran.
Border Tale 8-1 (10-12) Led, headed last, ridden and weakened flat, 6th of 11, 8l behind Hello Nod (10-10) at Kelso 2m hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gd.
Daldini 17-2 (10-5) Led, blundered 8th, headed next, pushed along, lost place 11th, soon behind, 6th of 9, 44l behind Tell Henry (10-5) at Ayr 2m 4f hcp chs (2) gd in Apr.
Adare Prince (IRE) 5-1 (11-11) Led, headed 2nd, led again 9th, mistake next, headed 3 out, weakened approaching next, 6th of 8, 18l behind Shrewd Investor (11-7) at Haydock 3m hcp chs 0-115 (4) gd in Mar.
Trafalgar Road (IRE) 100-1 (11-0) Held up, always in rear, no chance after 8th, tailed off, 8th of 17, well behind Bouggler (10-7) at Aintree 2m 4f nov hdl G2 (1) gs in Apr.
