held up behind leaders, effort after 9th, soon weakened, tailed off
led 2nd until 4th, chased leaders, ridden after 9th, 3rd and beaten when went right 2 out
raced wide, led until 2nd, prominent, ridden after 8th, weakened after next, went badly left 4 out, pulled up before next
held up, not fluent 6th, headway 9th, ridden approaching 4 out, weakened 3 out
prominent, led 4th until 9th, regained lead 4 out, 7 lengths clear 2 out, headed flat, weakened
tracked leaders, ridden after 8th, weakened before 4 out
not jumped well, held up, blundered 2nd, mistake 4th, weakened after 9th, blundered badly 2 out, soon eased
tracked leaders, led 9th until 4 out, soon ridden, 7 lengths down 2 out, stayed on to lead flat, won going away
Nonrunner
It can't often have been said about Daryal that he's the safest option in a race but that may be the case today. Tanikos isn't easy to catch right but he has his conditions today and is on a decent mark. Similar comments apply to Coach Lane but he has failed to take advantage of similar openings already this season. The top two and bottom two in the weights have plenty to prove just now whilst Lord Jay Jay has proved best on quicker ground in the past. That leaves just two. William Bonney should have no problem with either ground or trip and should have the ability to win from his current mark but he has been below par the last twice (the ground may have been too quick last time) so is passed over. The selection has his own ideas about the game but did win three times over hurdles and added a win over fences to his tally when scoring at Stratford. He's feasibly treated on just a 4lb higher mark this afternoon and is open to improvement after just four chase starts; he acts on most ground and Daryal gets the tentative vote.
Nous Voila (FR) 12-1 (11-0) Close up, ridden 8th, behind from 5 out, tailed off, 4th of 7, well behind Nikola (11-0) at Leicester 2m 4f beg chs (4) gd.
Young Collier 9-1 (11-0) Chased leader, led 3rd (water), set good pace, blundered 4 out, headed and weakned from next, blundered last, 5th of 7, 28l behind Magic Sky (10-12) at Newbury 2m 1f hcp chs 0-135 (3) sft in Mar '07.
Tanikos (FR) 9-1 (10-4) Chased leader to 2nd, remained prominent, ridden after 6th, weakened before 4 out, 5th of 6, 33l behind Wanango (11-3) at Uttoxeter 2m hcp chs (2) gs in Feb.
William Bonney (IRE) 15-8 (11-7) Held up in rear, headway before 3 out, chased winner 2 out, weakened flat, 3rd of 5, 14l behind Gentle John (10-10) at Kempton 2m nov hcp chs (2) gd.
Coach Lane 5-2fav (10-10) Held up, headway when blundered 8th, ridden from 4 out, beaten 2 out, soon edged right, 4th of 8, 7l behind Letalus (10-10) at Warwick 2m hcp chs 0-135 (3) hvy in Jan.
Daryal (IRE) 10-3 (11-0) Always prominent, ridden after 2 out, led, left in command last, stayed on, won at Stratford 2m 1f nov chs (4) gd beating Sternenzelt (11-0) by 4 1/2l, 5 ran.
Offemont (FR) 13-2 (11-9) refused in race won by Azione (11-4) at Warwick 2m amt hcp hdl 0-100 (4) hvy, 8 ran.
Major Euro (IRE) 16-1 (11-3) Soon dropped rear, behind when pulled up 5 out in race won by Wenger (10-8) at Stratford 2m 4f hcp chs 0-110 (4) gd, 12 ran.
Lord Jay Jay (IRE) 11-2 (10-0) Led, ridden when headed 2 out, weakened quickly, 3rd of 8, 20l behind Bring Me Sunshine (10-0) at Chepstow 2m 3f hcp chs 0-145 (2) gs in Feb.
