prominent until ridden and weakened approaching 3 out
mid-division, headway 8th, went 2nd when jumped right 3 out, soon ridden, 3rd and beaten last, weakened flat
led, hung left approaching 7th, headed after next, weakened approaching 3 out
mid-division, pushed along briefly after 5th, headway approaching 8th, soon ridden, not much room and lost place before 3 out, stayed on same pace last, soon went 3rd, no danger
prominent, led after 8th, headed approaching 3 out, soon weakened
held up, headway approaching 3 out, went second 2 out, ridden to lead before last, driven out
held up in rear, blundered 4th, mistake 8th, good headway soon after to press leaders, hung left and weakened approaching 3 out, soon eased and tailed off
prominent, raced keenly, chased leader approaching 3rd until after 6th, outpaced 8th, rallied approaching 3 out , weakening when not fluent 2 out
held up, pulled hard, not fluent 4th, headway 6th, not fluent next, soon ridden, weakened 8th, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out
in touch, led approaching 3 out, not fluent 2 out, headed before last, no extra towards finish
in touch, pushed along after 7th, ridden after next, weakened approaching 3 out
It's time to play big money with MAX BYGRAVES who tops a shortlist including Quarl Ego, Cootehill and Prof De L'Isle. Kim Bailey's gelding has been given a couple of months off since being pulled up at Doncaster. That was on soft ground however and his best form has been on a quicker surface. Granted that today, and reunited with Jason Maguire who ahs ridden him before, he looks sure to run well. Blinkers are applied on Mad Jack Duncan following a run at Exeter last time. He was never able to recover after being badly hampered but he doesn¿t look the most straightforward and is yet to win in six. Tootsie Too needs to run better after a five month break, Novarra needs to prove that a fall last time hasn't affected confidence, whilst Daarth cannot be ruled out off bottom weight despite having shown little to date. Horses that come here in better form include the recent winners Key Cutter and Quarl Ego, of which the latter makes most appeal. Nicky Henderson's gelding, a son of Ungaro, saw off the reopposing Cootehill despite the bit slipping through his mouth and he is open to much more improvement, although he doesn't have Tony McCoy aboard today. A tricky puzzle to solve but a chance is taken on Max Bygraves.
Quarl Ego (FR) 4-1fav (11-2) Mid-division, headway 8th, pushed along and bit slipped through mouth after 8th, challenged 3 out, took narrow lead 2 out, headed last, soon regained lead, ran on, won at Ludlow 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-120 (3) gd in Mar beating Cootehill (11-1) by 1l, 11 ran.
Cootehill (IRE) 4-1fav (11-1) Tracked leaders, led 3 out, headed narrowly 2 out, soon drifted left, led again last, soon headed, not quicken towards finish, 2nd of 11, 1l behind Quarl Ego (11-2) at Ludlow 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-120 (3) gd in Mar.
Cool Cliche 6-1 (11-1) Always behind, hampered 4 out, 13th of 15, well behind Templer (11-6) at Chepstow 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-120 (3) gd in Mar.
Prof de L'Isle (FR) 9-2 (10-6) Always behind, ridden approaching 8th, well beaten when blundered 2 out, 7th of 16, 32l behind I'm The Decider (11-3) at Ludlow 3m Am hcp hdl 0-115 (4) sft in Jan.
Rothres (FR) 100-1 (10-4) Always in rear, ridden and struggling 6th, tailed off, 12th of 13, well behind Argento Luna (11-0) at Newbury 2m 5f mrs nov hcp hdl (4yo+) (1) gd in Mar.
Max Bygraves 8-1 (11-12) Mid-division when not much room and hampered 1st, in rear and struggling from 3rd, tailed off and pulled up after 2 out, in a race won by Well Disguised (10-11) at Doncaster 2m cnd hcp hdl 0-100 (4) sft in Jan, 18 ran.
Farmers Cross (IRE) 14-1 (11-0) Always behind, 9th of 15, 26l behind Templer (11-6) at Chepstow 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-120 (3) gd in Mar.
Tootsie Too 16-1 (10-4) Led until 6th, chased leaders, ridden after 3 out, soon weakened, 12th of 14, 28l behind Busker Royal (11-9) at Ascot 2m 3f nov hcp hdl 0-120 (3) gd in Nov.
Mad Jack Duncan (IRE) 8-1 (11-6) Keen, in rear, ridden and mistake 9th, plugging on when hampered and left 4th 2 out, 4th of 14, 34l behind Might As Well (11-7) at Exeter 2m 7f nov hcp hdl 0-105 (4) gd in Mar.
Novarra (IRE) 8-1 (11-11) Prominent, lost place 3rd, headway 6th, close 3rd and going well when fell 7th, in a race won by Quiny Boy (11-9) at Stratford 2m 3f 4yo cnd hcp hdl 0-95 (5) gf in Mar, 16 ran.
The Composer 14-1 (11-0) Behind from 5th, 10th of 11, well behind Line Artic (10-9) at Exeter 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gd in Mar.
Daarth 25-1 (11-0) Held up, mistake and ridden 4th, behind from 3 out, 6th of 10, well behind Saphire Night (11-5) at Wincanton 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-100 (4) sft in Mar.
Key Cutter (FR) 14-1 (11-1) Raced keenly in mid-division, steady headway after 7th, not fluent 3 out, soon outpaced, closed approaching last, ran on under pressure flat to lead near finish, won at Uttoxeter 2m 4f mdn hdl (4) gd in Mar beating Always Bold (10-7) by 3l, 12 ran.
