chased leaders, lost place and pushed along before 5th, soon closed back up, went 2nd after 3 out until 2 out, weakened flat
chased leaders on inside, went 2nd 4 out until after 3 out, 2nd again 2 out, mistake and no chance with winner last
made all, clear last, very easily
soon in touch in outside, not fluent 2nd, chased winner before 5th until 4 out, weakened before 2 out
pressed winner, slow 1st, ridden into 2nd and 3rd, lost 2nd before 5th, weakened next
NonRunner
NonRunner
ERICK LE ROUGE (NAP) came good under today’s conditional at Bangor on last month’s reappearance when stepped up to today’s distance. Another bold bid is expected despite a 7lb rise and he’s preferred to another recent winner in Outcrop, who landed a lower grade contest at Sedgefield and is 8lb higher today. Cogburn has been off the track for over a year but went close over track and trip last season and Santiago de Cuba was been placed in maiden hurdles during the summer. Malachite has won a maiden race and better is expected from him today given this is a much easier task than when well beaten at Cheltenham last month.
Malachite 9-1 (11-2) Tracked leaders, ridden after 2 out, not quicken and beaten before last, 11th of 16, 16 1/4l behind Storm Rising (11-2) at Cheltenham 2m hcp (3) gd in Oct.
Cogburn 3-1 (10-12) Chased leaders, outpaced after 3 out, weakened next, 4th of 6, 15 1/2l behind Equus Secretus (10-12) at Huntingdon 2m 4f (4) gd in Nov.
Erick Le Rouge (FR) 6-1 (11-4) Tracked leader, led after 4th, clear before last, stayed on strongly, won at Bangor 2m 4f hcp (4) gd in Oct beating Hastrubal (11-1) by 3 1/2l, 14 ran.
Classic Tune 40-1 (11-13) Mid-division, reminders before 7th, soon lost touch, tailed off when pulled up before 4 out, at Bangor 2m 4f hcp (4) gd in Jun.
Sporty Yankee (USA) 100-1 (11-7) In rear, slow 3rd, laboring badly after, well behind 5th, 11th of 12, dist behind Aldrin (11-5) at Worcester 2m hcp (4) gd in Sep.
Santiago de Cuba (IRE) 14-1 (11-3) Mid-division, slight mistake 4 out, weakened from next, 14th of 20, dist behind Black Key (11-8) at Galway 2m 5f hcp Yielding - Soft in Aug.
Outcrop (IRE) 7-1 (11-11) Held up behind, steady headway after 4 out, led narrowly when mistake 2 out, clear last, ridden out flat, kept on, won at Sedgefield 2m 1f hcp (5) gd in Nov beating Millie The Minx (10-5) by 1 3/4l, 12 ran.
