mid-division, ridden to chase leaders after 3 out, weakened next
tracked leaders, ridden and weakened after 3 out
held up, smooth headway to track leaders 3 out, ridden after next, led last, driven out
close up, pushed along 8th, weakened approaching 3 out, tailed off
always towards rear
mid-division, weakened 3 out
led and raced keen, headed 9th, hit 3 out, soon weakened, tailed off
tracked leaders, ridden and struggling from 8th, tailed off
held up mid-division, headway to lead 9th, headed 3 out, soon weakened
tracked leader, not fluent 5th, hit 6th, reminders after 8th, weakened 3 out, pulled up before last, tailed off
held up, headway 10th, led 2 out, headed and hit last, kept on
tracked leaders, led 3 out, hit and headed 2 out, stayed on from last
held up, mistake 4th, struggling from 6th, tailed off when pulled up before 8th
held up, pushed along and struggling from 7th, tailed off when pulled up before 10th
Chockdee has a solid chance on the figures and is expected to have too many guns for Anatar and Smilingvalentine, while former stablemate Colourful Life would have to be given a chance if Keith Reveley has managed to coax him back to form. That is a big if though and, in the absence of a reliable indication from the betting perspective, he is probably best watched this time. Smilingvalentine represents shrewd connections and shouldn't be underestimated at this level. He was well ahead of Anatar when they met at Newton Abbot and should make a bold bid to uphold the worth of the form. Anatar, in his turn, does have the ability to win at this level and things will fall into place for him again at some point. However, they will need to, as his resolution has not stood up to scrutiny on too many occasions for him to merit being a confident choice. Therefore, we go with Chockdee, who has at least hinted that his turn is not too far away. As is only to be expected in this grade, Paul Nicholls' charge is something of an underachiever, but his recent form is the strongest on offer and he is fancied to help the Nicholls bandwagon to start rolling again.
Colourful Life (IRE) 40-1 (11-2) Mid-division, weakening when blundered 20th, behind when pulled up at the 23th in race won by Native Jack (10-8) at Cheltenham 3m 7f crs cty hcp chs (2) gs in Mar, 16 ran.
Chockdee (FR) 6-1 (11-6) Tracked leaders, mistake 3 out, ridden when not fluent 2 out, faded, 5th of 11, 8l behind Foodbroker Founder (10-10) at Stratford 2m hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gf in Jun.
Anatar (IRE) 10-3 (11-5) Jumped slowly 1st, mid-division, ridden after 4th, dropped rear, no chance from 3 out, 4th of 13, 30l behind Galant Eye (10-12) at N Abbot 2m 3f sll hdl (5) sft in Jun.
Ballybough Billy (IRE) 14-1 (10-7) Pulled hard, led 2nd and until after 3rd, blundered and unseated rider at the 4th in race won by Different Class (11-5) at Hereford 2m 3f nov hdl (4) gf in Jun, 10 ran.
Barton Dream (IRE) 20-1 (12-0) Held up; hdwy 11; wknd 14, 4th of 7, 27l behind Clever Dickie (12-0) at Cold Harbour 3m ptp frm in Apr.
Rushneeyriver (IRE) 11-4fav (11-9) Mid-division, steady headway after 3 out, led after 2 out, stayed on, ridden out, won at N Abbot 2m 3f amt sll hcp hdl (5) gf in Jun beating Mapilut du Moulin (9-7) by 2 1/2l, 14 ran.
Shared Account (IRE) 10-11fav (12-0) Led to 14; led & fell in race won by Native Legend (12-0) at Pentreclwydau 3m ptp sft in May, 4 ran.
Smilingvalentine (IRE) 2-1fav (9-9) Towards rear and mistake, headway after 5th, led 2 out, mistake and rider lost iron last, headed soon after, not recover, 2nd of 13, 3/4l behind Galant Eye (10-12) at N Abbot 2m 3f sll hdl (5) sft in Jun.
