held up in rear, headway 8th, ridden approaching 3 out, weakened approaching 2 out
held up, ridden approaching 9th, effort and hit 11th, soon weakened
tracked leaders, ridden after 9th, weakening when mistake 10th, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out
with leader, led 9th, ridden approaching 2 out, jumped right last, hard ridden and hung left last, stayed on gamely
led, hit 6th, headed 9th, soon weakened, tailed off when pulled up before 2 out
mid-division, lost place 6th, soon behind, kept on to take poor 3rd flat
mid-division, ridden 8th, weakened next, tailed off when pulled up before 11th
held up, headway approaching 9th, weakened 11th
The main players here should be Nine De Sivola, Russian Sky and Corlande and the tentative vote is given to Russian Sky. The selection will try and burn them off from the front and he certainly achieved that feat in impressive fashion at Wetherby in a decent contest when beating Hidden Bounty. He has ground conditions to suit and with this slight step-up in trip also in his favour he is taken to score. Nine De Sivola has improved all season and he continued his winning streak when beating His Nibs at Warwick last time. There should be more to come from him and he is the one we fear the most. Corlande won well last time when beating Wild Is The Wind but this longer trip and more competitive field means we are happy to oppose on this occasion. Jethro Tull is another who would have claims on the pick of his form as he has beaten Russian Sky. However, our selection should reverse the form on these revised terms and we will stick with Russian Sky to lead them home.
Nine De Sivola (FR) 9-2fav (9-7) Mid-division, headway 8th, outpaced after 3 out, rallied 2 out, led and jumped left last, edged left flat, ran on, won at Warwick 3m 1f hcp hdl (2) sft in Jan beating His Nibs (10-3) by 2l, 15 ran.
Dream Falcon 25-1 (10-2) Prominent in chasing group until ridden and weakened after 3 out, 13th of 18, 38l behind Ungaro (10-8) at Sandown 2m 6f hcp hdl Grd 3 (1) gd.
Irishkawa Bellevue (FR) 33-1 (9-11) Led to 5th, ridden approaching 8th, weakening when hit 9th, 14th of 15, 37l behind Nine De Sivola (9-7) at Warwick 3m 1f hcp hdl (2) sft in Jan.
Just Beth 16-1 (10-1) Held up in touch, driven 8th, slightly outpaced after 2 out, kept on flat, 3rd of 14, 10l behind Attorney General (11-12) at Cheltenham 3m hcp hdl (2) gs in Jan.
Corlande (IRE) 15-2 (10-12) Tracked leaders, headway 4 out, led before next, driven clear last, comfortably, won at Carlisle 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) hvy in Jan beating Wild Is The Wind (11-12) by 11l, 8 ran.
Russian Sky 12-1 (10-2) Made all, ridden after 2 out, stayed on under pressure flat, won at Wetherby 2m 7f hcp hdl 0-130 (C) sft in Dec beating Hidden Bounty (11-10) by 1 1/2l, 18 ran.
Mouseski 13-2 (10-9) Dropped to rear after 3rd, never really going well after, some late headway, 5th of 9, 11l behind Afrad (11-4) at Sandown 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-135 (C) gs in Dec.
Nick The Silver 14-1 (11-11) Mid-division, ridden from 11th, gradually weakened, 9th of 14, 20l behind Tickateal (11-4) at Musselburgh 3m hcp hdl 0-105 (4) gf in Jan.
Jethro Tull (IRE) 6-1 (11-1) Held up, pushed along after 11th, no impression after, 6th of 12, 49l behind Bang And Blame (10-9) at Sedgefield 3m 3f hcp chs 0-105 (4) sft in Jan.
