held up towards rear, headway 3 out, joined leader next, ridden to lead after last, ridden out
prominent, led 14th, hard pressed from 2 out, headed flat, kept on
in touch, pushed along 3 out, ridden, beaten after next
towards rear, hit 3rd, weakened 14th, tailed off when pulled up before 2 out
prominent, effort between last 2, no extra flat
in touch to halfway, soon weakened, tailed off when pulled up before 2 out
led to 14th, ridden after 3 out, soon one pace
Windy Hills, Itsmyboy and Lord Rosskit look the main protagonists in this novices' chase and the vote is given to Windy Hills. The selection won in good style last time out when beating Duke Orsino and although having a penalty for that win he has plenty of scope and he is taken to win again under similar conditions here. Itsmyboy rates the main danger as he beat Highlen last time out, however, that horse has since let the form down and he is taken on with this in mind. Lord Rosskit jumped violently out to the right last time so looks opposable on this left handed track. Somedo Somedont was second behind Ballyhale last time and is another with place claims but he is hard to win with. The remainder need to improve significantly on all known form to trouble the principals and for the winner we return to Windy Hills.
Itsmyboy (IRE) 6-5fav (11-2) Mid-division, headway 10th, jumped right 13th, led last, driven out, won at Worcester 2m 7f beg chs (4) gd beating Highglen (11-2) by 1/2l, 9 ran.
Lord Rosskit (IRE) 5-1 (11-11) Held up, outpaced 8th, ridden and headway approaching 4 out, led next, not fluent 2 out, jumped right last, held on under pressure flat, won at Wetherby 2m 4f nov hcp chs 0-110 (4) gf beating Jendali Lad (9-9) by 1/2l, 6 ran.
Windy Hills 10-11fav (11-2) Tracked leaders, led 3 out, ridden clear between last 2, won at Wetherby 2m 7f beg chs (4) gf in Apr beating Duke Orsino (11-2) by 11l, 6 ran.
Ballyhill Boy (IRE) (12-0) pulled up 5 out in race won by The Varlet (12-0) at Kirkistown 3m ire ptp gd in May '06, 13 ran.
Not A Trace (IRE) 12-1 (10-9) Mid-division, lost place 5th, headway 10th, ridden and outpaced 12th, one pace from 2 out, 4th of 12, 12l behind Caipiroska (10-0) at Perth 3m nov hcp chs 0-105 (4) gd.
Out To Lunch (IRE) 50-1 (11-2) Mid-division, weakened approaching 4 out, 8th of 15, well behind Earnest (11-2) at Wetherby 2m 7f mdn hdl (5) gf in Apr.
Somedo Somedont 3-1 (11-0) Prominent, ridden 3 out, blundered next, stayed on to chase winner flat, 2nd of 9, 5l behind Ballyhale (11-0) at Hexham 3m nov hdl (4) gf.