chased leader, mistake 2nd, slight mistakes 6 out and 4 out, pressed leader before 3 out, ridden in 2nd after 3 out, no impression 2 out, kept on one pace
settled 3rd, fell 1st
made all, mistake 4 out, pressed briefly before 3 out, asserted before 2 out, slight mistake last, pushed out and kept on well run-in
This has attracted a very good field for the money though the race conditions are very much in favour of THE STORYTELLER. Gordon Elliott's nine-times winner enters the fray in top form having followed an easy victory over fences at the Galway Festival with another impressive success over hurdles back there a couple of weeks ago. He's rated 1lb higher than the prolific Peregrine Run but gets 6lb from Peter Fahey's grand jumper, the winner of 17 races and also in good form on the Flat recently. A Grade 3 victory over fences at Killarney in July showed him to be as good as ever. Paloma Blue was over five lengths behind that day and did much better when dropped back to 2m at Wexford last time when he had Ornua 12 lengths behind and Djingle well beaten.
Ornua (IRE) 3-1 (11-4) Led until headed 5th, ridden in 3rd and no impression before 2 out, kept on one pace, 3rd of 7, 12l behind Paloma Blue (11-4) at Wexford 2m sft in Aug.
Peregrine Run (IRE) 7-2 (9-12) Chased leaders, 7th halfway, pushed along over 2f out, ridden and no impression in 5th 1f out, kept on one pace, 5th of 13, 5 1/4l behind Tonkinese (10-4) at Leopardstown 1m 7f hcp gd in Aug.
Djingle (FR) 8-1 (12-0) Tracked leader until led 5th, ridden and headed after 3 out, no impression in 4th 2 out, kept on one pace, 5th of 7, 26 1/2l behind Paloma Blue (11-4) at Wexford 2m sft in Aug.
Paloma Blue (IRE) 2-1fav (11-4) Held up towards rear, 4th 5 out, 3rd before 4 out, 2nd after 3 out and led travelling well before next, ridden and kept on well from last, won at Wexford 2m sft in Aug beating Western Victory (11-2) by 3l, 7 ran.
The Storyteller (IRE) 6-5 (11-10) Tracked leader, 2nd halfway, headway to challenge 2 out, pushed along to lead entering straight, jumped right last, kept on well run-in, won at Galway 2m 5f Yielding in Sep beating My Sister Sarah (11-3) by 4 3/4l, 5 ran.
Whisperinthebreeze 14-1 (10-13) Settled behind leaders, 10th halfway, ridden and no extra after 3 out, pulled up before next, at Leopardstown 3m hcp sft in Dec.
