held up in rear, not fluent 9th, ridden 12th, outpaced 5 out, never going pace to get on terms, stayed on flat
slowly into stride, went prominent 5th, soon led, headed 11th, led 16th, headed 5 out, led 3 out, clear 2 out, held on gamely
prominent, lost place before 7th, outpaced before 4 out, rallied last, went 2nd towards finish, stayed on, not quite reach winner
led, not fluent 1st, headed when not fluent 3rd, led 11th until 16th, led 5 out, not fluent and headed 3 out, no extra last
held up, mistake 13th, outpaced 16th, well beaten after 5 out, pulled up before next
mid-division, not fluent 6th, effort when not fluent 12th, one pace 3 out, no extra last
tracked leader, led 3rd until after 5th, stayed prominent, closed on winner after last, no further impression and lost 2nd towards finish
chased leaders on inside, not fluent 10th, outpaced 15th, well beaten 5 out, tailed off
mid-division, hit 12th, headway from 15th, pressing for 3rd last, no extra final 100 yards
prominent on outside until bad mistake 11th (water), not recover and behind after, pulled up before 4 out
Financial Climate jumped from fence-to-fence when scoring at Sandown two weeks ago having won earlier at Chepstow. He's back on-song and McCoy takes over the reins here for his hat-trick bid. Former Hennessy hero Carruthers would be a popular winner for Gold Cup-winning trainer/jockey combination Mark Bradstock and Nico de Boinville but he hasn't won for more than two years. No Duffer has been raised 8lb for winning at Sandown while Handy Andy and Imperial Circus have been disappointing this term. Drumshambo likewise, though he showed a bit more at Ludlow last time and has fallen to a decent mark. SIN BIN still hasn't won over fences but has been thereabouts off this sort of mark a few times. Connections have been waiting for the ground to dry out and he should go close to breaking his duck today.
Ikorodu Road 4-1fav (11-1) In touch in 4th, ran in snatches and pushed along, outpaced before 11th, kept on from last, went 3rd towards finish, never dangerous, 3rd of 8, 14l behind Aachen (10-2) at Doncaster 3m hcap ch (2) gs in Feb.
Carruthers 7-1 (10-12) Held up in mid-division, headway from 15th, ridden 17th, outpaced before 4 out, weakened 3 out, 5th of 14, 29l behind Hawkes Point (10-12) at Warwick 3m 5f hcp chs G3 (1) sft in Jan.
Amigo (FR) 10-1 (9-11) Led, headed 7th, weakened before 8 out, pulled up, in a race won by Samstown (10-5) at Haydock 3m 1f hcp chs G2 (1) hvy in Jan, 12 ran.
No Duffer 5-1 (11-8) Tracked leader until 4th, went 2nd again before 12th, led 15th, clear flat, stayed on, won at Sandown 3m hcp chs 0-135 (3) gs in Feb beating Russe Blanc (11-3) by 6l, 9 ran.
Drumshambo (USA) 16-1 (11-7) Tracked leaders, ridden before 4 out, went 2nd next until last, lost 3rd place near finish, 4th of 9, 5l behind Global Power (11-3) at Ludlow 3m hcp chs 0-140 (3) gs in Feb.
Handy Andy (IRE) 6-1 (11-11) Chased leaders, went 3rd approaching 13th (water), ridden before 3 out, outpaced soon after, rallied run-in to press for 3rd, 4th of 8, 13l behind Monkerty Tunkerty (11-1) at Wincanton 3m 3f hcp chs 0-130 (3) hvy in Jan.
Financial Climate (IRE) 11-2 (10-11) Jumped really well, pressed leader, led approaching 13th, pushed along before 3 out, driven and kept on gamely run-in, won at Sandown 3m hcp chs 0-135 (3) gd beating Mosspark (11-8) by 3/4l, 6 ran.
Imperial Circus (IRE) 8-1 (10-0) Mid-division, in touch from 4th, 6th and struggling when mistake 6 out, 5th of 12, 44l behind Any Currency (11-0) at Cheltenham 3m 7f hcp chs (2) gs in Dec.
Sin Bin (IRE) 8-1 (11-2) Hit 1st, chased leading pair, went 2nd 13th, blundered 17th, pushed along and lost 2nd 4 out, kept on same pace in 3rd, 3rd of 12, 5l behind Gorsky Island (11-6) at Ludlow 3m 1f hcp chs 0-130 (3) gs in Dec.
Master Neo (FR) 5-1 (11-12) Chased leaders, 3rd at 11th until pushed along and weakened and pulled up before 5 out, in a race won by Fourovakind (11-11) at Chepstow 3m hcp chs 0-120 (4) hvy in Jan, 6 ran.
