in touch, hit 4th, ridden next, weakening when mistake 3 out, tailed off
raced freely in lead, wandered at 3rd, headed 6th, ridden and weakened after 3 out, left poor 3rd next
chased leaders, driven and weakened soon after 3 out, tailed off
chased leaders until ridden and lost place 5th, struggling in rear when fell next
tracked leader, led 6th, clear after 3 out, 2 length lead when went right and fell 2 out
held up well in rear, steady headway 6th, went 2nd after 3 out, 2 lengths down and going well when left in lead 2 out, driven and held on gamely near finish
hit 1st, tracked leaders in 4th, went 3rd after 3 out, left close 2nd next, kept on well flat, just held
Nonrunner
KEVKAT was the beaten favourite last time but we tip him to rectify that here and take his first victory of the year ahead of Blacktoft and Ardmaddy. David Pipe's gelding was a bumper winner in 2005 and had shaped with promise in two of his three starts over hurdles. Also a three-time Flat winner, he looked interesting on this debut for a top yard two starts ago. He failed to follow up on that run but had proven capable over this distance in the past and can return to winning ways here today. Blacktoft recorded a hat-trick of victories across the all-weather back in February. Whether that form can be transferred to the turf though remains to be seen, but this longer trip and good going should see him thereabouts at the finish. Ardmaddy is another gelding whose best form has come on the artificial surfaces. He was a winner at Lingfield earlier this year, his first run on the turf was promising though and a repeat performance should see him make the minors. Distance winner King Edmund stands out from the rest but a vast improvement on recent form is need if he is to pose a serious threat to our selection Kevkat.
Ardmaddy (IRE) 9-1 (11-1) Held up in rear, headway approaching 2 out, stayed on same pace, 4th of 12, 6l behind King Gabriel (10-10) at Fontwell 2m 2f nov hcp 0-115 (4) gf.
Blacktoft (USA) 8-1 (9-1) Held up in touch, headway to join leaders over 3f out, ridden over 1f out, took 3rd well inside final furlong, 3rd of 6, 6l behind Wind Flow (8-6) at Wolverhampton 1m 4f 4yo hcp 0-95 (2) in Feb (flat).
Jeczmien (POL) 16-1 (11-1) Took keen hold, tracked leading pair, not fluent 3 out, beaten when fell next, in a race won by El Dancer (11-1) at Plumpton 2m nh nov hdl (4) sft in Mar, 4 ran.
Kevkat (IRE) 4-5fav (11-0) Held up behind, headway when blundered 3 out, soon ridden, weakened 2 out, 6th of 13, 21l behind Nearby (11-0) at Newton Abbot 2m 1f mdn hdl (4) gf in Mar.
King Edmund 8-1 (11-2) Held up and keen, effort 3 out, fading approaching last, 5th of 11, 34l behind Santia (11-2) at Fontwell 2m 2f nov hdl (4) gd in Mar.
Zhukov (IRE) 15-2 (11-0) Held up, mistake 1st, headway when mistake 7th, ridden 2 out, 4th and beaten when blundered last, weakened flat, 4th of 12, 14l behind Nabouko (11-0) at Southwell 2m 5f mdn hdl (5) gd.
Zuckerpuppe (GER) (8-7) last of 11, 23l behind El Dancer (9-4) at Munchen(GER) 3yo stk sft in Oct (flat).
The Slider 40-1 (10-9) Tracked leader to 3 out, weakening when fell next, in a race won by Silver Sister (10-6) at Fontwell 2m 2f sell hdl (5) gd in Mar, 15 ran.
Miss Cruisecontrol 100-1 (10-2) Hit 1st, always towards rear, 10th of 18, 37l behind You're The Top (11-5) at Kempton 2m nh nov hdl (4) gd.
