keen, held up 3rd, mistake 4 out, ridden and tailing off when mistake jinked right and unseated rider 2 out
made all and kept bit wide, soon clear, steadied approaching 5th, good jump to go clear again 3 out, not fluent final 2, unchallenged
raced keenly, tracked clear winner, closer approaching 5th, hit 7th, outpaced 3 out, hit 2 out, never any chance
Twice a winner over fences in France, including in a Grade 3, Saint Xavier pulled much too hard at Cheltenham on his UK debut and was the first beaten. He should be capable of better but it’s a worry that he’s not won in eight tries over the smaller obstacles and is already and eight-year-old. DELIGHT OF DUBAI wasn’t stopping when scoring over a shorter trip at Lingfield. He won over 3m between the flags and can maintain his unbeaten record under Rules as Bourbon Borderline hasn’t shown much over timber so far.
Bourbon Borderline (IRE) 7-1 (11-0) Led until 4 out, soon led again, headed approaching 3 out, weakened after, 8th of 16, 29 3/4l behind Garry Clermont (11-0) at Ludlow 2m mdn (4) sft in Nov.
Saint Xavier (FR) 20-1 (10-12) Held up, pulled hard, headway after 5th, ridden and beaten home bend, not much room after last, 7th of 8, 17 1/4l behind Redford Road (10-12) at Cheltenham 3m (1) sft in Dec.
Delight Of Dubai (IRE) 4-1 (10-12) Led early, tracked leader, led 3 out, blundered 2 out, kept on and held on well towards finish, won at Lingfield 2m 3f mdn (4) hvy in Nov beating Easter Gold (10-12) by 1 1/2l, 8 ran.
