chased leader, pushed along and lost touch 4 out, went wide and eased bend before 3 out
held up in touch, ridden and blundered 4 out, not recover
tracked leader, headway on bit 13th, challenged 3 out, every chance 2 out, joined winner and hampered last, ridden and wandered left run in, no extra
held up towards rear, ridden and challenged 3 out, every chance 2 out, weakened approaching last
prominent, ridden 11th, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out
mid-division, mistake 10th, blundered 13th, pulled up soon after
led, ridden and headed 11th, soon weakened
prominent, headway and challenged 3 out, led 2 out, blundered last, rallied and stayed on well flat
held up mid-division, ridden 10th, behind from last
held up towards rear, no headway from 4 out
held up in mid-division, led 11th, ridden 4 out, headed 2 out, no extra from last
soon behind, tailed off 7th, pulled up after 10th
It could well be that Irbee will go off as favourite based on his past exploits, but Paul Nicholls' 11-year-old seem to have his own ideas about the game these days, as shown when once again throwing away a winning opportunity at Sandown two weeks ago. With that in mind it could well pay to look elsewhere, and the likes of Jabiru and Saxon Duke make most appeal. The latter won off a mark of 134 at his best for Philip Hobbs, and if fit for his reappearance, will play a major role. The feeling though, is that Jabiru will have his measure here. Trained by Mary Sanderson, who learnt her trade with Martin Pipe, the 10-year-old was a credit to her last term, rattling up wins at Exeter and Newton Abbot, in addition to posting seconds at Cheltenham and Stratford. The plan is to take in the Foxhunters' at the Cheltenham Festival, and a recent outing between the flags at Larkhill should ensure that he lines up fit here en route to bigger things.
