held up, reminder after 6th, mistake 11th, headway approaching 13th, mistake 17th, pecked next, stayed on same pace from 2 out
made all, jumped right 18th, 19th and 3 out, stayed on well from 2 out
tracked leaders, reminder 16th, ridden after 3 out, weakened 2 out
chased winner throughout, reminder after 16th, mistake next, one pace and no impression after 2 out
held up, pushed along 13th, behind from 16th, pulled up before 18th
Arnold Layne should be good enough to win this with Super Lord and Ballyfoy the obvious dangers. He was sent off a well backed favourite for the valuable Classic Chase here in January only to take a crashing fall before the race had begun in earnest. His jumping had been a feature of his previous win here and he is reunited with his regular pilot this afternoon who was unavailable last time. The smaller field may also help and he has an obvious chance if none the worse for his fall. Super Lord won a lesser race at this track in good style and hasn't got too many miles on the clock so is open to improvement. He'll need to find it though if he's to overcome a 13lb rise for that success but it's not beyond the realms of possibility. Petite Margot and High Cotton both stay well but are firmly in the handicapper's grip and Ballyfoy makes more appeal. He beat Boychuk and made Classified work hard in the spring and ran to a similar level of form last time. He has been inconsistent in the past but a 5lb rise for his Newbury win is realistic if he can hold his form. That 'if' is a big concern though and Arnold Layne is readily preferred.
Ballyfoy (IRE) 25-1 (10-13) Mid-division, headway after 13th, went 2nd next, soon ridden, stayed on to lead final 75 yards, driven out, won at Newbury 2m 6f hcp chs 0-135 (3) sft in Jan beating Its Crucial (10-3) by 2 1/2l, 12 ran.
Arnold Layne (IRE) 3-1fav (10-13) Prominent, close 3rd when fell at the 14th in race won by D'Argent (11-7) at Warwick 3m 5f hcp chs Grd 3 (1) hvy in Jan, 13 ran.
Super Lord (IRE) 12-1 (11-12) Handy early, held up, headway 8th, mistake 10th, led after 4 out, clear approaching last, easily, won at Warwick 3m hcp chs 0-115 (4) sft in Dec beating Oakfield Legend (11-12) by 11l, 11 ran.
Petite Margot 9-1 (11-0) Held up in touch, not fluent 3rd, weakened 4 out, 7th of 9, 12l behind Labelthou (11-5) at Ascot 3m hdl Grd 2 (1) sft in Jan.
High Cotton (IRE) 12-1 (9-10) Always behind, tailed off when pulled up 3 out in race won by Lucky Nellerie (9-12) at Catterick 3m 6f hcp chs 0-130 (3) sft in Jan, 15 ran.
