tracked leaders and keen, saddle soon slipped, went 2nd at 5th, pulled up before 7th
held in rear and keen, soon tracked leaders on outer, led 3rd, headed after 4 out, weakened before next, blundered 2 out
held up towards rear, ridden after 4 out, headway from 3 out, stayed on, no impression
behind, headway after 4 out, ridden and weakened 2 out
held up towards rear, not fluent 9th, soon reminders, weakened from 4 out
with leaders, hit 4 out, every chance 3 out, ridden and one pace
held up mid-division on inner, pushed along after 4 out, kept on on from after next, took 3rd flat
in touch on inner, chased leaders before 3 out, led 2 out, soon ridden, clear before last, eased last 75 yards, driven out towards finish
led, headed 3rd, led after 4 out, ridden and headed 2 out, one pace
held up mid-division, ridden before 2 out, headway before last, stayed on well towards finish
Everaard should be sharper for a spin around Catterick earlier in the month but this longer trip is a real concern. The distance won't bother Ballymacduff, who has been placed in both starts since winning over 3m1f at Perth last May and finished ahead of More Equity at Ayr recently. But he's giving a lot of weight to SONARA, who finally got off the mark over hurdles when shown a bit of leniency by the handicapper at Catterick last month. Hopefully he'll show more respect to the larger obstacles so he can add to his tally here. Latin Connection showed his first sign of ability at Catterick last time but connections would probably have expected him to be carrying a few pounds less in his first chase.
Ballymacduff (IRE) 5-1fav (11-5) Tracked leaders, led 6th, headed approaching last, ridden and kept on same pace flat, lost 2nd near finish, 3rd of 13, 4l behind Arctic Court (11-7) at Ayr 3m hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gd.
Latin Connection (IRE) 50-1 (11-0) Held up towards rear, headway on inner before 2 out, joined winner and hit last, no extra last 50 yards, 2nd of 17, 1 1/4l behind San Deng (10-1) at Catterick 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-105 (4) gs.
More Equity 10-1 (10-10) Always prominent, effort 3 out, ridden next, kept on from last, 4th of 13, 4 1/2l behind Arctic Court (11-7) at Ayr 3m hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gd.
Western Bound (IRE) 12-1 (10-1) Close up, hit 5th, 5th 3 out, soon weakened, 9th of 17, 41l behind Laura's Light (10-3) at Galway 3m hcp hdl gs in Aug '08.
Twentypoundluck (IRE) 33-1 (11-7) Held up towards rear, ridden in 14th and no impression entering straight, kept on one pace, 11th of 19, 21l behind White Star Line (11-7) at Naas 2m 3f mdn hdl sft.
Grand Union (IRE) 15-2 (10-8) Prominent, ridden after last, kept on to lead close home, won at Perth 3m nov hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gd in Apr beating Ballymacduff (10-10) by hd, 12 ran.
Soprano (GER) 40-1 (10-9) Jumped poorly, blundered 1st and next, detached in rear, reminders 10th, mistakes 11th and next, soon tailed off, pulled up after 14th, in a race won by Isla Pearl Fisher (10-3) at Musselburgh 3m hcp chs 0-120 (3) gs, 9 ran.
Everaard (USA) 14-1 (11-1) Chased leaders, lost place from 6th, 9th of 17, 36l behind San Deng (10-1) at Catterick 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-105 (4) gs.
Sonara (IRE) 13-2 (10-0) Chased leaders, went 2nd approaching 6th, led narrowly when blundered 2 out soon ridden, kept on flat, won at Catterick 3m 1f hcp hdl 0-110 (4) gd in Dec beating Outlaw Tom (11-7) by 1l, 15 ran.
Vallani (IRE) 7-1 (10-12) Held up towards rear, reminder 7th, headway from 2 out, kept on, no impression, 5th of 15, 12l behind Too Cool To Fool (11-3) at Ayr 3m nov hcp hdl 0-95 (5) gs.
