held up in touch, ridden and weakened approaching 2 out
tracked leaders, dropped rear halfway, pushed along 6th, no danger soon after
held up in rear, pushed along after 3 out, headway under pressure between last two, soon ridden and effort, kept on flat
in touch, dropped rear 4th, ridden 7th, soon beaten
held up towards rear, headway 6th, led after 2 out, soon ridden, headed and no extra flat
held up mid-division, headway to go in touch 6th, ridden to lead flat, stayed on strongly
held up mid-division, headway to go in touch halfway, ridden and slighty outpaced 3 out, rallied and every chance between last two, kept on under pressure flat
led, ridden and headed after 3 out, weakened approaching last
tracked leader, led after 3 out, mistake and headed next, driven to challenge last, weakened flat
in touch, pushed along after 3 out, effort next, weakened approaching last
In a race where there are plenty of questions to be answered, Castle Clear is a tentative TEAMtalk selection. Sue Bradburne's horses were running pretty well at Perth the other week and although Castle Clear will probably come on for the run, he may still be good enough to win after a four month break. His fast ground course and distance win in April gives him a decent chance, though the worry is that he has risen plenty high enough in the weights. Johnston's Art has shown a fair amount of ability, but does not look the easiest of rides and his defeat by Tiger Grass last time suggested that he doesn't really relish a battle. The booking of Tony Dobbin is a plus, but he wouldn't have anything like as much in hand as their running with Bodfari Signet suggests over this trip. On that basis, the latter would have to come into calculations. Last year's winner Allotrope has not managed to follow up since, and despite dropping down the handicap, still looks to be exposed. La Mola Sun looks interesting on his first start since winning a Wincanton hurdles on fast ground almost two-and-a-half years ago, but it would be a huge ask for him to win first time, and Bo Dancer could be one to get into the frame again.
