prominent, ridden over 3f out, weakened 2f out, tailed off
prominent, went 2nd over 3f out, every chance over 1f out, soon slightly hampered, weakened final furlong
mid-division, headway 3f out, edged left and led 1f out, soon hung left, kept on
held up, headway and not clear run 3f out, ridden over 1f out, every chance inside final furlong, kept on
led, headed over 8f out, ridden over 4f out, weakened over 2f out, tailed off
held up, ridden 7f out, never near leaders
held up, headway over 3f out, weakened final furlong
prominent, led over 8f out, ridden over 2f out, headed 1f out, weakened inside final furlong
in touch, ridden over 4f out, soon lost place, tailed off
With a penalty for last week's Nottingham win Malarkey may be capable of following up here, but the ground has gone against him and we will side with Sun Hill. The selection will relish this test of stamina, having won three times on the fibresand of Southwell and Wolverhampton last month before an abortive attempt in Class C company at Doncaster last time. Dropped back in grade, he has got home on slow going at Wolverhampton a couple of times and will hopefully be able to handle this good to soft ground here. Malarkey sprung something of a surprise at Nottingham and is not in the habit of winning too often, so maybe that was the day to catch him. the ground is a big concern, as he has run all his best turf races on fast, though he should get the trip and is clearly fit, so he is respected. Another to consider is John Dunlop-trained Heir To Be. He will relish the cut and also the stamina test and if he is fully wound up first time then he could be the main danger to the selection. Only 1lb higher than when winning at Newcastle in May last year, he is one for the shortlist, while Don Fernando is also interesting coming here fit from the jumps. For the selection though we remain loyal to Sun Hill.
