in rear, brought down 2nd
held up mid-division, fell 2nd
with leader, weakened before 2 out
held up towards rear, headway before 2 out, soon chased winner, kep ton and held run-in
tracked leaders, headway before 2 out, went 3rd before last, kept on same pace
tracked leaders in 4th, headway to lead before 2 out, mistake last, kept on well, pushed out
held up towards rear, headway before 2 out, one pace in 4th
led, headed before 2 out, soon weakened
A very decent contest for the time of year and Chris Ward's claim will help the consistent Changing The Guard. Akula ran better than expected at Newton Abbot following a break and may again beat the disappointing Sud Pacifique, but Tindaro's recent victory at Kempton came over fences and his future probably lies in that sphere. ALL THAT REMAINS finally got off the mark at Kelso last time but has been bumped up 8lb for that success. His confidence will have been boosted however and, with his yard still in cracking form, he may be good enough to land this ahead of Taunton fourth Knight In Purple providing there's a decent pace. Distant Memories was well behind Changing The Guard at Aintree and looks a little out of sorts at present.
Changing The Guard 9-1 (11-4) Led, headed before 2nd, led 4th, not fluent next, headed approaching last, 5th and no extra when not fluent at hurdle, 5th of 11, 20l behind Starluck (11-9) at Cheltenham 2m 1f hcp (3) gs in Apr.
Distant Memories (IRE) 33-1 (10-8) Mid-division, weakened from 4 out, 16th of 22, 27l behind Cockney Sparrow (9-9) at Aintree 2m cond hcp hdl (2) gs in Apr.
Akula (IRE) 28-1 (11-8) Tracked leader, led before 2 out, headed 2 out, no extra before last, 3rd of 11, 15l behind Tzora (10-9) at Newton Abbot 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gf.
Ruler Of All (IRE) 50-1 (10-2) Led, not fluent 6th, headed when not fluent 3 out, weakened approaching last, 11th of 16, well behind Barizan (10-6) at Haydock 2m hcp hdl Grade 3 (1) gd.
Sud Pacifique (IRE) 7-2 (11-1) Tracked leaders in 3rd, ridden before 2 out, kept on same pace, 5th of 11, 16l behind Tzora (10-9) at Newton Abbot 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gf.
Knight In Purple 5-1 (11-0) Close up and raced wide, pushed along before 2 out, went 4th from last, kept on same pace, 4th of 10, 9l behind Cry Of Freedom (11-4) at Taunton 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-140 (3) gf.
Tindaro (FR) 9-2 (11-6) Mid-division, steady headway 4 out, challenged on inside between last 2, led last, ridden out flat, won at Kempton 2m hcp chs 0-130 (3) gd beating Unforgettable (11-0) by 3l, 12 ran.
All That Remains (IRE) 5-2fav (11-7) Prominent, led after 3rd, mistake 3 out, driven appraoching last, stayed on well, won at Kelso 2m 2f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gd in Apr beating Lisbon (10-11) by 1 1/4l, 11 ran.
