behind, kept on from 2 out, never dangerous
tracked leaders, mistake 1st, ridden after 9th, weakening when mistake 2 out, behind when pulled up before last
keen, made all, clear 2 out, easily
held up, mistake 8th, headway approaching 3 out, ridden approaching next, soon weakened
prominent, mistake and slipped badly 9th, soon weakened
tracked leaders, chased winner after 9th, ridden approaching last, one pace
Sargon gets the call here ahead of Giorgio, with Chem's Truce and Wild Power looking best of the rest. The Philip Hobbs-trained Giorgio is lightly raced and has proven consistent but he was slightly disappointing on his chasing debut, although the winner, Waterspray, did the job well enough. With Tony McCoy booked, he should go well but Sargon might just get the better of him. The first thing that catches the eye about him is that he has been sent over from Ireland by the very shrewd Michael Hourigan. Add to this the fact that he is a winning hurdler, who achieved a rating in the low 100s, and that he has had a couple of reasonable sighters over the larger obstacles, then the case for his chances is not hard to make. Chem's Truce made a satisfactory debut over fences at Worcester and, given that he should build on that, could go well, while Wild Power should also be on the shortlist for a placing as he has run pretty well over fences in two starts. Overall, though, we will stick with Sargon.
