held up in rear, ridden, headway approaching 3 out, weakened 2 out
prominent, ridden 3 out, soon weakened, tailed off when pulled up before last
held up, headway 2nd, ridden after 7th, weakened before next
prominent, keen, ridden to go 2nd approaching 2 out, kept on flat, not troubled winner
led to approaching 4th, led again 5th, clear last, pushed out
held up, headway 2nd, led approaching 4th to 5th, ridden 3 out, weakened 2 out, mistake last
Petwick is taken to bring the winning runs of both Flintoff and Mago de Grugy to an end in the finale, with Carapuce likely to be anchored by his weight. This does look quite competitive, but Petwick did nothing wrong when landing a gamble on his first outing for the Alan King yard at Warwick a fortnight ago and should improve again. Prior to that sterling effort in which he prevailed despite still looking a bit green, he had not been seen since December 2004 when trained by Pat Murphy, and as this will be only his seventh career run, there should be plenty more to come. The only question mark is his ability to handle the ground today which is sure to be testing, but apart from that he is worth chancing. Flintoff has been well placed to win all three starts this season and connections have been waiting for the ground to ease. They get their wish today and he can be in the shake-up, but the lack of a run since May might just count against him. Mago de Grugy defied a 10lb rise when holding on to beat The Gangerman at Exeter, the pair finishing clear, but another seven-pounds on his back today will make things harder, and it will not be too long before he goes over fences. Carapuce has been off since April and is another that will be back chasing sooner rather than later, and for the winner we return to Petwick.
Carapuce (FR) 12-1 (11-12) Tracked leaders, headway 3 out, ridden and effort next, no impression approaching last, 4th of 12, 17l behind River Mist (10-0) at Hexham 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-125 (D) gd in Apr.
Flintoff (USA) 5-4fav (11-5) Led, headed approaching 2nd, remained close up, ridden approaching last, stayed on to lead towards finish, won at Cartmel 2m 1f 4yo nov hdl (E) gd in May beating Smart Boy Prince (10-12) by a nk, 10 ran.
Jockser (IRE) 25-1 (10-2) Mid-division, lost place after 6th, mistake 7th, no danger after, 12th of 23, 18l behind Hordago (10-1) at Cheltenham 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-135 (C) gs in Nov.
Petwick (IRE) 9-4fav (11-8) In touch, headway 6th, stumbled bend approaching 2 out, led last, ran on well, won at Warwick 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-100 (F) gd in Nov beating Pop Gun (10-1) by 7l, 15 ran.
Magot de Grugy (FR) 11-4 (11-7) Prominent, good headway after 8th, challenged on bit approaching 3 out, soon led, ridden approaching last, driven out, won at Exeter 2m 6f nov hcp hdl 0-105 (E) gs in Nov beating The Gangerman (10-6) by 3/4l, 7 ran.
Scarlet Fantasy 20-1 (10-9) Held up and keen, effort 3 out, soon weakened, 5th of 8, 30l behind Rosetown (10-2) at Towcester 3m hcp hdl 0-115 (D) sft in Nov.
Irish Legend (IRE) 13-2 (10-13) Held up, headway approaching 3 out, soon ridden, weakened 2 out, 5th of 8, 14l behind Overserved (10-10) at Uttoxeter 3m hcp hdl 0-125 (D) hvy in Nov.
