chased leaders, took closer order halfway, led 7th, clear approaching last
held up, headway 4 out, kept on from last
chased leader, led after 4th, hit 6th, headed 7th, weakened approaching last
held up in rear, ridden and outpaced 4 out, headway 3 out, one pace
led, headed after 4th, weakened from 7th
held up in touch, mistake 4th and 5th, effort 4 out, never dangerous
Mister McGoldrick is more than capable of taking the honours in this contest, especially having slipped to his current mark but Sue Smith's gelding is hard to back with confidence on recent evidence and a better bet looks to be Three Mirrors, with Coat of Honour rated the pick of the remainder. The selection showed progressive form in the spring, including on a fast surface, and Ferdy Murphy's gelding still remains feasibly well treated so gets the vote to make a winning reappearance. Richard Lee's Borora has the advantage of being fit from recent runs but may just be a shade high in the weights, while Peter Bowen's Lankawi was well held on his return at Cheltenham and is hard to recommend on that evidence. Howard Johnson's Coat of Honour should come on for his recent return over hurdles and has to be respected but Three Mirrors looks open to further improvement this year and he gets the vote.
Mister McGoldrick 14-1 (11-12) Mid-division, lost place from 12th, 11th of 12, well behind Always Waining (11-2) at Uttoxeter 3m hcp chs (2) gd in May.
Coat of Honour (USA) 40-1 (11-12) Chased leaders, ridden after 3 out, soon weakened, 12th of 17, 33l behind Pigeon Island (10-9) at Market Rasen 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-145 (2) gd in Sept.
Lankawi 20-1 (11-4) In touch, ridden after 12th, weakened after next, 11th of 19, 28l behind Knowhere (11-12) at Cheltenham 2m 4f hcp chs 0-145 (2) gd in Oct.
Three Mirrors 7-2 (9-13) Chased leaders, ridden approaching 3 out, led 2 out, clear approaching last, won at Ayr 2m 4f hcp chs (2) gf in Apr beating Locksmith (11-0) by 9l, 5 ran.
Art Virginia (FR) 16-1 (10-0) Mid-division, headway 3 out, chased leaders 2 out, weakened before last, 7th of 14, 12l behind Platin Grounds (10-1) at Cheltenham 2m nov hcp hdl (2) gs in Oct.
Borora 7-2 (11-3) Tracked leaders, led 3 out, ridden 2 out, fading when headed last, 2nd of 6, 3l behind Donovan (10-3) at Huntingdon 2m 4f hcp chs 0-135 (3) gf in Oct.
College City (IRE) 17-2 (11-10) Held up in touch, headway 6th, left in lead 3 out, headed flat, no extra, 2nd of 16, 6l behind Snow's Ride (11-7) at Kelso 2m 6f cnd hcp hdl 0-100 (4) gd in Oct.
