held up, headway to chase winner 4 out, soon driven along, well held before 3 out
held up, went 3rd 5th, led 10th, clear 3 out, easily
on and off bridle, tracked leader 3rd, led 9th until next, weakened approaching 3 out
led until 9th, weakened 4 out, well behind 3 out, pulled up after
tracked leader uniil 3rd, hit 7th, last when mistake next, pulled up before 9th
Simply Strong was the subject of a gamble when going close at Newton Abbot in May but was put up 9lb for that effort and proved no match for Bold Perk at Hereford next time. French Ties is more exposed and was well beaten when favourite off this mark at Cartmel on his latest start, while Princely Hero is now 14lb higher than when his winning run began and may meet his match here in I'M THE DECIDER. Suited by fast ground and small fields, Jonjo O'Neill's charge had no chance off a much higher mark over hurdles at Worcester last time but a reproduction of an earlier winning effort at Huntingdon would probably suffice here.
I'm The Decider (IRE) 20-1 (10-11) In rear, pushed along and struggling from 7th, tailed off and eased, 12th of 13, well behind Strumble Head (9-12) at Worcester 3m hcp hdl 0-135 (3) gf in Jun.
Nez Rouge (FR) 17-2 (10-9) Held up, headway 5th, led next, drew clear approaching 2 out, won at Stratford 2m 3f clm hdl (4) gf in Aug '09 beating Pepporoni Pete (11-8) by 6l, 9 ran.
Princely Hero (IRE) 11-2 (11-9) In touch, ridden along 5th, headway to 2nd after 9th, led next, ridden and headed before 3 out, rallied to lead again between last 2, in command last, kept on well, won at Southwell 2m 4f cond hcp chs 0-105 (4) gd beating Iona Days (10-13) by 2 1/4l, 9 ran.
French Ties (IRE) 7-2fav (11-11) In touch, led 4 out, ridden after last, headed over 1f out, soon lost 2nd and weakened, 3rd of 14, 16l behind Nifty Roy (10-6) at Cartmel 2m 5f hcp chs 0-100 (4) gd in May.
Simply Strong (IRE) 4-1 (11-6) Led until not fluent 2nd, chased winner until next, stayed handy chased winner again 11th, no chance from last (normal 2 out), 2nd of 12, 19l behind Bold Perk (11-4) at Hereford 2m 5f hcp chs 0-95 (5) gd in Jun.