led, ridden and headed over 3f out, soon beaten
held up, went 2nd over 5f out, led over 3f out, soon clear, easily
prominent, ridden over 5f out, soon weakened
With Welsh Crystal having shown little on her debut and Frightening Fred not guaranteed to stay as he is out of a winning sprinter, this looks likely to boil down to a match between Rye Brook and Spike Jones, with the latter getting a narrow vote in receipt of weight. Jonjo O'Neill's five-year-old was easy to back, in what looked a competitive contest at Cheltenham, but he didn't shape too badly and will no doubt have learnt a great deal from the experience. The front-running Rye Brook impressed when landing his bumper win at Chepstow and is clearly open to plenty of improvement. However, it takes something above average to defy a penalty and he may find himself being picked off in the latter stages by Spike Jones.
