disputed lead until ridden and headed approaching last, regained lead last 100 yards, held on well towards finish
held up towards rear and keen, blundered badly 8th, soon lost place, tailed off
held up towards rear, hit 3rd, outpaced from 11th, never dangerous
tracked leaders, outpaced 11th, went poor 4th after last, never dangerous
disputed lead and keen, led and going well approaching last, ridden flat, headed last 100 yards, no extra towards finish
chased leaders, ridden after 2 out, kept on from last, held towards finish
behind when blundered badly 1st, soon took keen hold, pulled up before 5th
tracked leaders in 4th when hit 2nd, hit 8th, lost place approaching 9th, soon weakened
Amalfi Coast made a satisfactory debut for the yard when second at Cartmel but this 11-year-old needs to improve on all known form to defy a mark of 108, so he's opposed in favour of REBEL HUNTER. A P McCoy takes the ride aboard this former point-to-point winner who was always likely to better his hurdles efforts once switched to the larger obstacles. That certainly seemed to be the case with his second to a more experienced rival at Stratford and it's unlikely that we've seen the best of him, so this mark of 101 can be defied. Ballabrook comes into this on his second to The Snail off 2lbs lower but he's been absent for some time and is taken on along with The Thirsty Bricky, who remains unexposed in the context of this race but has questions to answer on good ground, with his form coming under markedly slower conditions.
Amalfi Coast 17-2 (11-0) Tracked leaders, led 3rd until 5th, close up after, every chance last, outpaced by winner bend before home straight, stayed on to close on idling winner towards finish, 2nd of 5, 3/4l behind Magical Legend (10-7) at Cartmel 3m 2f beg chase (5) gd in Aug.
Silver Steel (FR) 16-1 (11-6) Held up in rear, mistake 3rd, headway approaching 9th, weakened approaching 3 out, left 3rd when jumped right last, demoted to 4th flat, 4th of 10, well behind Frosted Grape (10-6) at Uttoxeter 2m 4f hcp chs 0-115 (4) gs.
Mountskip 9-1 (11-0) Took keen hold, chased leaders, no impression before 2 out, 6th of 9, 13l behind Shopfrontspecialst (10-12) at Perth 2m hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gf in Jul.
The Thirsty Bricky (IRE) 5-1 (11-12) Held up, raced keenly, not fluent 4th, headway when mistake 8th, stayed on under pressure to lead last strides, won at Towcester 2m hcp ch 0-95 (5) sft in Feb beating Tooka (11-7) by 1/2l, 8 ran.
Poseidon (GER) 16-1 (10-7) In rear, went 4th from 9th, weakened from 3 out, 5th of 6, 45l behind Big Burrows (11-0) at Sedgefield 2m 4f beg chase (4) gf in May.
Rebel Hunter (IRE) 13-8 (11-6) Tracked leaders, chased winner 5th, not fluent 7th (water), not fluent 3 out, soon pushed along, stayed on same pace from 2 out, no impression, 2nd of 4, 9l behind Mam Ratagan (11-3) at Stratford 2m 4f beg chs (4) gf.
Ballabrook (IRE) 8-1 (11-0) Held up towards rear, raced keenly, some headway 4 out, weakened after 3 out, 5th of 9, 33l behind Award Winner (11-2) at Bangor 2m 4f nov hcp chs 0-115 (4) sft in Mar.
New Shuil (IRE) 25-1 (10-5) Close up, ridden and weakened from 2 out, 6th of 12, well behind Peters Star (10-13) at Catterick 3m 1f hcp hdl 0-120 (3) gs in Feb.
Got The Gift (IRE) 22-1 (10-9) Chased leaders, struggling 7th, soon lost place, pulled up soon after, in a race won by Mr Robert (11-2) at Hexham 2m 4f nh nov hdl (4) gd in Jun '09, 11 ran.
