in touch, never really travelling, ridden and struggling before 9th, soon tailed off and pulled up before 3 out
took keen hold early, held up in rear, mistake 4th, headway on outside approaching 3 out, chased leaders next, 4th when hit last, kept on well flat to take 3rd towards finish
made all, ridden and kept on when strongly pressed from 3 out, stayed on well from last
chased leaders, chased winner 4 out, driven after 3 out, kept on well to hold 2nd flat, no impression on winner
chased winner, blundered 6th, lost 2nd 4 out, weakened next, mistake 2 out
took keen hold, tracked leading trio, mistake 3 out, pushed along and weakened into 5 when blundered badly 2 out, weakened soon after, not recover
held up in touch, hit 4th, headway 4 out, chased leading pair 3 out, disputed 2nd 2 out, no extra flat and lost 3rd near finish
held up in last pair, mistake 8th, never really in contention after weakened 3 out
Nonrunner
A very poor contest where CELEBRITY CALL is a gun-to-the-head selection to beat Kilrogan and Hard And Fast. The Evan Williams-trained selection took a selling handicap hurdle over 3m 3f at Newton Abbot in June but has been found out from higher marks since. This trip may be a bit on the short side, but fast ground suits and Paul Moloney may at least try to make a test of it to give himself every chance of success against some similarly weak opposition. Transvestite will certainly get this far after a 1m 4f Wolverhampton Polytrack win showed he has plenty of stamina. He is adaptable with regards to the ground and he becomes more and more interesting every time he drops in the weights. Huntingdon seller winner Hard And Fast has trip and ground to suit and probably won't find this much tougher than that seller, so he is much respected. The 10-year-old Kilrogan loves to hear his hooves rattle and is effective over these middle distances. He won from a fair bit higher as recently as the spring and so should be very competitive at this level, but consistency is not his strong suit. Treasury Counsel is back on a winning mark but has not shown enough of late to get us interested today and we'll go with Celebrity Call.
Hard And Fast (IRE) Evensfav (10-12) Held up in touch, challenged approaching 3 out, led before 2 out, hung right between last 2, stayed on well flat, won at Huntingdon 2m 4f sell (5) gf in Aug beating Come West (11-5) by 2 1/4l, 11 ran.
Treasury Counsel (IRE) 5-2fav (11-6) Led, ridden and headed 3 out, soon weakened, 6th of 9, 30l behind Downing Street (11-4) at Ludlow 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-120 (3) gd in Apr.
Tayman (IRE) 14-1 (11-4) With leaders, lost place after 7th, 14th of 17, well behind Whats Up Bob (10-11) at Uttoxeter 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gd in Jun.
Kilrogan (IRE) 7-2 (10-10) Led until after 1st, not fluent, lost place next, headway 7th, went modest 3rd 3 out, no chance with front 2 when blundered 2 out, 3rd of 9, 20l behind Nez Rouge (10-9) at Stratford 2m 3f clm hdl (4) gf in Aug.
Celebrity Call (IRE) 15-2 (11-5) Held up mid-division, headway 12th, soon chasing leaders, challenged 2 out, weakened approaching last, 4th of 11, 12l behind Oscar Glory (10-13) at Bangor 3m hcp chs 0-105 (4) gd.
Transvestite (IRE) 7-1 (11-6) Mid-division, ridden along after 5th, never in contention, 6th of 9, 28l behind Peaceful Means (10-12) at Worcester 2m hcp hdl 0-105 (4) gd.
Local Present (IRE) 4-1fav (10-13) Chased leaders, weakened approaching 8th, 11th of 14, 46l behind Sir Ian (11-7) at Bangor 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-100 (4) gd in Apr.
Black Cloud 33-1 (11-0) Held up, never dangerous, 6th of 8, well behind Benefit Game (11-2) at Fontwell 2m 2f nov hcp chs 0-105 (4) gf in Aug.
Fortification (USA) 20-1 (10-9) In touch, ridden after 6th, weakened after 2 out, 6th of 10, 24l behind Benny The Piler (10-9) at Uttoxeter 3m hcp hdl 0-110 (4) gd.
