led, hung right, ridden and headed approaching 2 out, soon beaten
held up, tracked leading pair from 3rd, went 2nd after 5th, led approaching 2 out, soon clear, easily
not jumped well, lost touch 4th, fell last
tracked leaders, lost touch approaching 3 out, tailed off
in rear, reminders and lost touch after 4th, tailed off
took keen hold, tracked leader until after 5th, outpaced by front pair after 3 out
OSRIC won last time out and we like the look of him again today with the progressive Klampenborg and previous winner Calon Crwbin the best of the rest. Osric did not disappoint when favourite last time at Bangor with plenty more still to offer when crossing the line. This slight step up in trip should not pose a problem and the convincing nature of the victory by five lengths ahead of Master Fong in his last appearance convinces us to side with him once more. Klampenborg put in a much improved performance in April and we expect some more improvement here. He weakened on his last effort over this trip though and therefore we do not find justification to side with him today. Calon Crwbin ran out a very comfortable winner at Fontwell just over a month ago when beating Smooth Classic by five lengths and he should be the main competition to our selection here. The trip and conditions will suit and is worth bearing in mind for calculations. An improved performance by Cityar at Ludlow last time could signal some potential and A Nun With A Gun makes her seasonal bow. However, we side with the Nicky Henderson trained Osric to get the win here.
Calon Crwbin 13-8fav (11-0) Chased leaders, led 4th, clear 7th, hung right on bend after 3 out, continued to hang right, in no danger from before 2 out, won at Fontwell 2m 4f mdn hdl (5) gd in Apr beating Smooth Classic (11-0) by 5l, 9 ran.
Osric (IRE) 8-11fav (10-12) Held up in touch, chased leading pair from 5th, chased leader approaching 2 out, challenged last, soon led, kept on well, won at Bangor 2m 1f nh nov hdl (4) gs in Apr beating Master Fong (11-0) by 5l, 6 ran.
Cityar (FR) 14-1 (11-0) Held up in rear, headway on outside over 3f out, ridden over 1f out, ran on inside final furlong, edged right, went 2nd near finish, 2nd of 9, 3/4l behind Thanks For Coming (10-10) at Ludlow 2m NH flat (5) gd in May.
Klampenborg 33-1 (11-4) Led until well over 1f out, stayed on same pace, 3rd of 15, 9l behind Whoops A Daisy (10-3) at Bangor 2m 1f NH flat (5) gd in Apr.
Oxlea Lass 100-1 (10-7) Mid-division, behind from 3rd, tailed off when pulled up before 2 out, in a race won by Crannaghmore Boy (11-0) at Chepstow 2m 4f mdn hdl (4) hvy in Feb, 13 ran.
Detroit Red 20-1 (10-4) With leader and keen, ridden to lead approaching 2 out, soon headed, no extra towards finish, 4th of 10, 3l behind Synthe Davis (10-12) at Newton Abbot 2m 3f mrs nov hdl (4) gd in May.
A Nun With A Gun (IRE) 5-1 (10-7) Led 2f, remained prominent, pushed along over 6f out, slightly outpaced 5f out, rallied 3f out, hanging left 2f out, one pace final furlong, 3rd of 12, 6l behind Cresswell Pride (11-0) at Ffos Las 2m mdn NH flat (6) gd in Oct.
