chased clear leader, not fluent 4th, closed next, ridden 3 out, weakened before 2 out
held up, jumped big and slow 1st, not fluent next, headway 7th, pressing for 2nd when fell 3 out
mid-division, mistake 1st, reminder after 3rd and before 6th, weakening when mistake 7th, soon pulled up
held up in rear, not fluent 5th, headway 7th, hampered 3 out, soon went 2nd, edged right after 2 out, led last, idled flat, headed post
held up, jumped slowly 1st, not fluent and pushed along 4th, tailed off before 7th, soon pulled up
chased leaders, ridden after 7th, struggling when badly hampered 3 out, rider lost iron and unable to recover, carried out onto wrong side of marker
Don Cantillon is a shrewd operator and he serves up SPEED CHECK here off bottomweight despite his charge going in search of the hat-trick after a couple of victories, both quite cosily achieved, in the last three weeks or so. Conor Shoemark has been in the plate for both those successes and the combination should prove tough to beat with ground to suit and stamina no issue. Heston was behind the selection last time, as was Curragh Hall on his last start, but it's hard to see either overturning the form despite a healthy weight swing in their favour. They look the main threats though, although Toot Sweet would be interesting if market support came her way after an absence of 543 days.
Curragh Hall (IRE) 15-2 (11-12) Held up in rear, headway and in touch on inside 4 out, driven to chase winner between last 2 to before last, no impression when lost 3rd flat, 4th of 8, 12l behind Speed Check (9-9) at Stratford 2m 6f nov hcp hdl 0-100 (5) gf in Jul.
Toot Sweet (IRE) 15-2 (10-0) Held up in touch in last pair, not fluent 2nd or 6th, headway after 4 out, pressed for 3rd from 3 out, stayed on, not able to get on terms, 4th of 7, 5l behind Grassfinch (11-7) at Ludlow 3m cond mdn hdle (3) gs in Feb '13.
Heston 12-1 (11-12) Tracked leaders, ridden after 3 out, one pace before next, 3rd of 9, 12l behind Speed Check (10-8) at Newton Abbot 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-100 (5) gf.
Ravens Nest 50-1 (10-7) Mid-division, lost place before 3rd (normal 4 out), soon behind, tailed off, 8th of 10, well behind Hint Of Mint (11-5) at Leicester 2m nh nov hdl (4) hvy in Jan.
Noir Girl 7-1 (10-2) Led, ridden after 3 out, headed last, no chance with front pair flat, lost modest 3rd towards finish, 4th of 6, 18l behind Poetic Verse (11-12) at Cartmel 2m 1f mrs hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gd in Jul.
Original Star (IRE) 16-1 (10-5) Mid-division, struggling 14th, tailed off, 7th of 9, 47l behind Ifyousayso (11-11) at Leicester 2m 7f nov hcp chs 0-110 (4) gf in Dec.
Speed Check (IRE) 2-1fav (10-8) Led, headed 2nd, led again 3 out, hung left before last, ridden out, won at Newton Abbot 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-100 (5) gf beating Mac Le Couteau (11-5) by 1 1/2l, 9 ran.
