held up, under pressure into straight, soon no extra
led, headed before 3 out, remained close up, no extra from before last
tracked leaders in 3rd, slight mistake 2nd, mistake 3rd, weakened approaching straight, mistake 3 out and pulled up
soon chased leaders in 4th, slight mistake 4th, not fluent 7th, closed travelling smoothly from 3 out, led last, stayed on well and clear run-in, easily
held up, jumped right 5th, jumped slightly right 8th, last approaching straight, no extra and eased from after 2 out
held up, jumped slightly right 8th, chased leaders and under pressure before 3 out, no extra from after next
soon mid-division, slight mistake 2nd, slight mistake 7th, chased leaders and under pressure before 3 out, no extra from after 2 out
tracked leader, slight mistake 4th, close up 8th, led before 3 out where slight mistake, not fluent 2 out, headed last, soon dropped to 3rd, kept on run-in into 2nd near line
soon chased leaders in 5th, slight mistakes 3rd and 4th, closed and slight mistake 3 out, challenged from next, hit last, swished tail and no impression in 2nd run-in, dropped to 3rd near line
Knocklong, who has been alternating between hurdles and fences, hasn't won for almost three years. Westerners Son was a bit disappointing at Naas after two very good runs and the assessor may have hold of him but MINE NOW produced easily his best run to date when a close second to Missypet at Fairyhouse and can go one better. Master Ruffit showed major improvement over the minimum trip here last time and it wouldn't take much more to get into the action while Kilmainham also ran better last time, though a strike-rate of 1-23 over hurdles is off-putting. The veteran chaser Lion Na Bearnai showed he was no back number with a narrow defeat by Los Amigos at Fairyhouse and can revert to hurdling on a massive 40lb lower mark.
Knocklong (IRE) 6-1 (10-12) Tracked leaders, 4th halfway, slight mistake 4 out and soon pushed along, no impression in 3rd 2 out, 5th and no extra before last, 5th of 8, 17l behind Golden Plan (10-11) at Thurles 2m 4f hcp hdl in Jan.
Westerners Son (IRE) 9-2 (10-11) Close up, 4th after 2nd, lost place from before 4th, moderate 8th before straight, soon no impression, 6th of 13, 24l behind Misty Lady (9-6) at Naas 2m hcp hdl sft in Feb.
Circe's Island (IRE) 33-1 (10-9) Slowly into stride, always rear, ridden and detached before 3 out, pulled up before 2 out, in a race won by Who's That (9-12) at Leopardstown 2m 2f mrs hcp hdl in Feb, 23 ran.
Mine Now (IRE) 13-2 (10-13) Mid-division, progress entering straight and 5th 2 out, ridden in 3rd approaching last, under pressure and kept on well run-in, not reach winner, 2nd of 17, 3/4l behind Missyspet (11-9) at Fairyhouse 2m 4f nov hcp hdl 80-109 in Jan.
Some Drama (IRE) 7-1 (11-8) Chased leaders, not fluent 3rd, 6th from 7th, moderate 10th before straight, no extra, 10th of 16, well behind Old Time Melody (10-6) at Fairyhouse 2m 7f hcp hdl 80-109 in Jan.
Claire Pet (IRE) 40-1 (11-6) Mid-division, ridden in 10th 3 out, some progress next, 6th at last, no extra, 5th of 16, 13l behind Peoples Park (11-8) at Navan 2m cond hcp hdl (80-109) in Feb.
Kilmainham (IRE) 14-1 (11-7) Mid-division on inner, ridden in 9th 3 out, some progress next, went 4th at last, kept on same pace run-in, 3rd of 16, 7l behind Peoples Park (11-8) at Navan 2m cond hcp hdl (80-109) in Feb.
Lion Na Bearnai (IRE) 14-1 (11-3) Led, pushed along and headed 2 out, ridden in 2nd approaching last, kept on under pressure run-in, not reach winner, 2nd of 7, 1/2l behind Los Amigos (11-3) at Fairyhouse 2m 5f chs in Jan.
Flemenstorm (IRE) 66-1 (11-12) Towards rear, never a factor, kept on one pace in straight, 9th of 20, well behind Velvet Maker (11-12) at Fairyhouse 2m mdn hdl in Jan.
Master Ruffit (IRE) 25-1 (11-12) Tracked leaders in moderate 3rd, ridden in 4th 3 out, went moderate 3rd again next, kept on same pace run-in, 3rd of 13, 5l behind Mike McCann (11-12) at Navan 2m mdn hdl in Feb.
Keep Swinging (IRE) 40-1 (11-3) Towards rear, some headway into 12th at last but no impression, kept on same pace, 11th of 18, 12l behind Lilshane (10-2) at Naas 2m hcp hdl 80-109 sft in Feb.
