made all, reminder before 4th, ridden after 4 out, edged left before joined from 3 out, jumped right last, edged right flat, in command towards finish
tracked winner, not fluent 8th or 9th, challenging when not fluent and rider lost iron briefly 3 out, carried right last, not much room and switched left flat, no impression towards finish
held up, went 3rd from 2nd, outpaced 7th, weakened after 4 out, pulled up before 3 out
chased leaders, jumped slowly, lost place and reminder 1st, slow again next, struggling 7th, behind 9th, pulled up before 3 out
held up, not fluent 5th, pushed along before 7th, went 3rd after 9th, soon very remote
Black Jack Rover had a win to his name in an Irish point and an English bumper before scoring with plenty in hand last time over 2m5f at Sedgefield when stepped up in trip. He's clearly going the right way and is now asked to tackle an additional half mile which should be within his compass. BALLYKAN already has a 3m2f Huntingdon hurdle success on his CV and was far from disgraced when failing to give plenty of weight to the promising Promanco last time. That form reads as the strongest on offer and he gets the nod with stamina guaranteed. Obviously a strong performance from Promanco in the opener would further boost his claims.
Ballykan 2-1fav (11-5) Led narrowly, headed before 3 out, soon ridden, kept on same pace, no chance with winner before last, 2nd of 8, 7l behind Promanco (10-5) at Ludlow 2m 5f nh nov hdl (4) gd.
Black Jack Rover (IRE) 5-6fav (11-0) Tracked leaders, led approaching 3 out, clear and travelling well when mistake 2 out, eased last 100 yards, won at Sedgefield 2m 5f mdn hdl (5) gd beating Lawless Island (11-0) by 15l, 7 ran.
Colonial Style (IRE) 28-1 (11-3) Tracked leaders in 3rd, went 2nd 3 out, ridden and weakened before last, 6th of 8, 31l behind Prince Khurram (10-11) at Sedgefield 2m 1f cond mdn hdle (5) gf in Apr.
Raknruin (IRE) 33-1 (10-13) Prominent, pushed along 5th, ridden and weakened from 4 out, 13th of 14, 47l behind Credo Star (10-11) at Wexford 2m mdn hdl gd in Apr.
Garde Freinet (IRE) 25-1 (9-13) Towards rear, struggling 6th, never dangerous, tailed off 2 out, 7th of 9, well behind Dun Scaith (11-9) at Bangor 2m 4f nov hcp hdl 0-100 (5) gd.
