prominent on outside, bumped 1st, slow next, lost place 3 out, weakened next
prominent, led 3rd, not fluent 7th, headed 13th, led 4 out, stayed on well flat
held up towards rear, blundered and unseated rider 10th
chased leaders, went 2nd before 3 out, hung left after 2 out, every chance flat, held towards finish
bumped 1st, soon back in mid-division, closed 7th, went 3rd 2 out, stayed on same pace flat
led until 3rd, led 13th, headed 4 out, beaten from next
towards rear, slow 2nd, ridden and brief effort 11th, slow next, soon behind
held up in rear, took keen hold, not fluent 1st, mistake 6th and 8th, closed 12th, went 3rd briefly flat, one pace
Lough Derg Jewel is not badly treated but hasn’t raced since the start of the year while Justforjames faces a tougher task than when runner-up at Sedgefield recently and drops down in distance along with Nesterenko. The latter represents last year’s winning yard though has yet to win over fences while Craiganboy was still well beaten when second at Wetherby last time but CHARMIX returned to action with a creditable third at Aintree earlier in the month. With improvement expected on his second outing after wind surgery, Lucinda Russell’s charge may prove good enough off today’s mark and gets the vote.
Lough Derg Jewel (IRE) 4-1 (11-5) Tracked leader, led narrowly after 9th, ridden bypassing omitted last, headed flat, no extra towards finish, 2nd of 4, 4l behind Chidswell (10-12) at Kelso 2m 7f hcp (3) gd in Jan.
Ravenhill Road (IRE) 3-1 (10-13) Chased leaders, blundered 1st, effort after 4 out, weakened before 2 out, last of 5, 8 1/2l behind Dali Mail (10-13) at Newcastle 2m (3) sft in Dec.
Justforjames (IRE) 5-1 (12-5) Behind, headway 16th, 2nd 3 out, effort when mistake last, no extra closing stages, 2nd of 6, 2 3/4l behind Agamemmon (11-9) at Sedgefield 3m 2f hcp (4) sft in Dec.
Gold Opera (IRE) 7-1 (10-11) Held up towards rear, ridden and headway before last, weakened towards finish, 4th of 7, 10 1/2l behind Claud And Goldie (11-1) at Kelso 2m 6f hcp (2) sft in Dec.
Charmix (FR) 66-1 (11-0) Chased leaders, not fluent 2nd, soon lost place, effort 3 out, not fluent 2 out, stayed on same pace, took 3rd flat, 3rd of 10, 7 1/4l behind Sammy Bill (11-1) at Aintree 2m 4f hcp (3) gs in Dec.
Nesterenko (GER) 10-1 (11-7) Chased leaders, left challenging 5th, mistake 14th, every chance before 2 out, 4th and no extra last, 4th of 10, 16 1/2l behind Barbrook Star (11-12) at Warwick 3m 1f hcp (4) gs in Nov.
Newberry New (IRE) 14-1 (11-10) In touch, mistake 10th, soon lost place, tailed off 5 out, 5th of 7, dist behind Capard King (11-12) at Newcastle 2m 7f hcp (4) sft in Dec.
Craiganboy (IRE) 18-1 (11-6) Held up and behind, steady headway approaching 5 out, went 2nd next, tried to close 2 out, soon readily held, 2nd of 8, 12l behind Eceparti (11-11) at Wetherby 2m 5f hcp (4) sft in Nov.
