ridden 4th, always behind, tailed off when pulled up before last
held up, headway 4th, led after 2 out, comfortably
chased leaders, not fluent 3 out, soon weakened
led to 5th, ridden and weakened 2 out
held up, headway approaching 3 out, weakened 2 out
held up, weakened 3 out, tailed off when pulled up before last
chased leaders until 4th, soon behind, tailed off when pulled up before 2 out
held up, headway 5th, no impression from 2 out
held up, ridden 5th, soon struggling
held up, reminder after 5th, effort approaching 2 out, weakened approaching last
with leader, led 5th, ridden and headed after 2 out, one pace approaching last
An uninspiring finale should see Ganero justify the journey over from Germany, with Dominikan Monk the only realistic danger, as the rest appear only capable of offering token resistance. Some really disappointing sorts will face the tapes here and the Christian Von Der Recke-trained Ganero must surely take all the beating if his luck holds out. A winner on the Flat in his homeland, the five-year-old made his debut in an amateurs' event at Huntingdon 12 days ago and gave Nicky Williams a nightmare ride from start to finish. His girth broke early on, and his pilot did well to even stay on board before his saddle eventually slipped three out, with Williams having no other option but to pull him up before the last. Mick Fitzgerald takes over in the plate, and providing lightning does not strike twice, he should make amends. It is hard to look for a danger but Dominican Monk did at least have the ability to win a Ludlow bumper in December, and like the selection, also failed to get round on his hurdles debut, although in his case he unseated his rider at the third flight here, also 12 days ago. With none of the others making the slightest appeal, we return to Ganero as the obvious choice.
