not fluent, chased winner, pushed along approachin4 out, beaten when blundered 3 out, all out to hold on for 3rd near finish
made all, broke keenly, clear 3 out, unchallenged
chased leaders, dropped to last 6th, well behind from 9th, tailed off
chased leaders, pushed along after 8th, lost place next, ridden after 10th, well behind approaching 12th
last when jumped left and slowly 1st, headway to go 3rd 7th, went 2nd after 3 out, no chance with winner
Tot Of The Knar is an interesting chase debutante however COQ HARDI sets a fair standard and is preferred to Just Amazing. Robert Thornton has built up a strong relationship with the selection, and he looked on his way to a third win from three rides at Kelso last time until taking a fall at the 15th fence. He is a proven stayer, has form on a variety of surfaces and can successfully give weight away to all of his rivals. Just Amazing is an interesting runner but any rain would be against him, especially as he still has stamina to prove over this trip. He won a weak race well last time at Newton Abbott and has made a fair enough start to his chasing career. Lucent and Shenanigan have been found a hard race in which to start off over fences, so of more interest should be Tot Of The Knar. On hurdles ratings she is not far behind the top two and she is built to jump a fence. With a handy weight allowance she should give a bold show, especially if supported in the betting, however it is Coq Hardi who can get back to winning ways.
Coq Hardi (FR) 2-7fav (11-12) Held up in touch, 1 length down and going well when fell 15th, in a race won by The Shy Man (10-12) at Kelso 3m 1f nov stks (4) gd in May, 4 ran.
Just Amazing (IRE) 4-5fav (11-0) Chased leader, led 3rd, ridden 4 out, blundered 2 out, kept on gamely from last, won at Newton Abbot 2m 5f beg chase (5) gf in Jun beating Postmaster (11-0) by 2 1/4l, 6 ran.
Lucent (IRE) 4-1 (12-0) Prog to ld 13; hdd 2 out; wknd flat, 2nd of 9, 6l behind Lillie Lou (11-0) at Kingston Blount 3m ptp in Apr '08.
Shenanigan 8-1 (11-9) Mid-division, headway 7th, ridden 3 out, weakened, 9th of 15, 37l behind Quattrocento (11-9) at Ffos Las 3m hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gd in Jun.
Tot Of The Knar 6-1 (11-0) Held up and keen, took closer order 7th, weakened approaching 4 out, 7th of 8, well behind United (11-0) at Ascot 3m hdl G2 (1) gs in Jan.
