held up in 3rd place, improved 6th, left and lead soon after 9th, mistake 3 out, ridden and joined next, headed last, stayed on
led, jumped left 5th, jumped badly left 9th, ran out
Bagan has the class to defy a long absence at the expense of Vaughan, No Way Back and Earlsfield Raider. Bagan was rated 133 when second to Mephisto in a class 2 hurdle at Ayr two years ago, and either side of that ran at both the Cheltenham and Punchestown Festivals. He had earlier rattled up a hat-trick of successes over hurdles, and so could be a useful recruit to the bigger obstacles. If anywhere near fit, Charlie Mann's eight-year-old will surely take some stopping, as none of his rivals look anything to worry about. Vaughan will at least be fitter than most, but has a good few pounds to find with the selection based on their hurdles form, while No Way Back also needs to improve. However, his stable had a winner the other day and he is sure to have been well schooled at home by today's pilot Barry Fenton. Earlsfield Raider was quite useful over timber two years ago, but he is yet another that is best watched, and in the belief that class will tell, we return to Bagan as the answer.
No Way Back (IRE) 17-2 (11-0) Held up, headway 7th, ridden and every chance 3 out, weakened quickly, 4th of 9, 25l behind East Tycoon (11-5) at Stratford 2m 4f hcp chs 0-130 (3) gd in Apr.
Vaughan 7-2jt-fav (11-5) Held up, driven 5th, closer order after 7th, ridden approaching 3 out, weakening when hit last, 4th of 8, 9l behind Monticelli (11-7) at Chepstow 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-125 (3) gd in Apr.
Flirty Jill 14-1 (10-7) In touch, ridden 3 out, plugged on, 5th of 16, 26l behind Quarterback (11-0) at Stratford 2m 6f nov hdl (3) gd in Apr.
Bagan (FR) 14-1 (11-12) Towards rear, progress into 5th approaching 2 out, moderate 4th before last, soon no extra, 5th of 11, 12l behind Asian Maze (11-7) at Punchestown 2m 4f nov hdl Grd 1 sft in Apr '05.
Earlsfield Raider 16-1 (11-3) Mid-division, headway 7th, ridden 3 out, went 2nd and mistake 2 out, kept on, no chance with winner, 2nd of 15, 7l behind Ballycassidy (11-5) at Worcester 3m hcp hdl 0-140 (B) gf in Jun '05.
Supercilious (IRE) 8-1 (11-8) In touch, weakened after 4 out, behind when pulled up at the last in race won by Astarador (11-0) at Wetherby 2m nov hdl (3) sft in Oct, 11 ran.
