held up in touch, took closer order 7th, hard ridden to lead last, driven out
mid-division, headway 7th, ridden and one pace from 3 out
mistake 1st, behind, ridden and headway after 9th, one pace from 2 out
led at good pace, headed after 7th, weakened after next, pulled up before 3 out
behind from 7th, tailed off
mistake 8th, always towards rear
always towards rear, tailed off from 8th
tracked leader, led after 7th until 10th, soon weakened
held up, took closer order after 8th, one pace from 3 out
chased leaders, led 10th, headed approaching 2 out, weakened
chased leaders, ridden to lead after 3 out, headed last, no extra
From a shortlist of Lonesome Man, Keltic Lord, Fear Siuil and Dun An Doras, we will side with the first-named. Given that Richard Johnson has elected to ride him, Lonesome Man might bring up his three-timer here. Admittedly a 13lbs rise for his latest win could well prove prohibitive, but maybe not. Montreal is struggling to get back to his winning form of last summer, but Keltic Lord can go well, even though he has been raised nine pounds for a Stratford win. Shaadiva's new mark prevented her from following up her Market Rasen win last time, and might do so again. Fear Siuil comes here in pretty good shape and, having been dropped two pounds for a fair Stratford run, gets a solid mention. Nick The Jewel is well weighted based on his October 2003 winning form, but has not shown much lately. Harik is back to the mark from which he won at Fontwell in March, so can be given a chance, while Lord Strickland is well-weighted based on his winning form of May 2004, although his latest two runs leave something to be desired. Dun An Doras may have needed his latest run but, with his form of last summer from around today's mark rating as ok, he has to come into the equation here. The others do not look obviously well-weighted which, in turn, returns us to the selection, which is Lonesome Man.
Shaadiva 6-1 (11-11) Mid-division, headway 6th, every chance 3 out, weakened approaching last, 4th of 10, 10l behind Bronzesmith (11-4) at Worcester 2m 4f hcp chs 0-125 (D) gf in Jun.
Keltic Lord 5-4fav (10-11) In touch, went 2nd 13th, led 14th, blundered badly 15th, headed soon after, led again 2 out, ridden clear, won at Stratford 3m hcp chs 0-125 (D) gf in Jul beating Dark Room (11-6) by 4l, 9 ran.
Montreal (FR) 10-1 (11-2) Held up towards rear, headway 13th, weakened 3 out, 6th of 7, well behind Little Big Horse (11-3) at Stratford 3m hcp chs 0-135 (C) gd in Jun.
Lonesome Man (IRE) 13-2 (11-1) Made all, soon clear, blundered badly 10th, unchallenged, won at Aintree 2m 4f nov hcp chs 0-110 (D) gd in Jun beating Pollensa Bay (10-0) by 22l, 7 ran.
Dun An Doras (IRE) 16-1 (11-5) Always behind, 7th of 14, 44l behind Blakeney Coast (10-6) at Stratford 2m 4f hcp chs 0-120 (D) gf in Jul.
Lord Strickland 14-1 (11-3) Prominent, hit 11th, weakening when blundered 4 out and pulled up 2 out in race won by Kelly (11-1) at Stratford 3m hcp chs 0-125 (D) gd in Jun, 9 ran.
Fear Siuil (IRE) 8-1 (10-5) Mid-division, headway to join leaders 12th, led after 4 out, headed approaching 2 out, weakened flat, 4th of 9, 5l behind Keltic Lord (10-11) at Stratford 3m hcp chs 0-125 (D) gf in Jul.
Maidstone Monument (IRE) 2-1fav (11-12) Led to 1st, chased leaders, headway to join leader halfway, pushed along 9th, soon outpaced, 3rd of 10, well behind Now Then Sid (10-5) at Sedgefield 2m 5f hcp chs 0-110 (E) frm in Jul.
