held up in touch, ridden 17th, soon weakened
tracked leaders and jumped left throughout, headway on inside to lead after 14th, ridden 3 out, jumped left and rider lost iron last, drifted left under pressure flat
held up towards rear, mistake 7th, not fluent 12th, weakened 17th
ran in snatches, led after 4th to 7th, led 11th, lost place 15th, mistake 4 out, one pace after
led to 4th, led 7th to 11th, led 14th, headed 15th, ridden 16th, kept on well from last
prominent, ridden 17th, weakened 4 out
soon behind, always tailed off
held up in mid-division, lost touch 15th, pulled up before 3 out
mid-division, headway on bit 17th, ridden approaching 3 out, stayed on well flat
blundered and unseated rider 2nd
Once again, this is a superb race for the Badger Ales Trophy, and from a shortlist of Swansea Bay, Double Honour, Gunther McBride and Bounce Back, the tentative vote goes to Gunther McBride. This race often has a bearing on the Hennessy Gold Cup, and most of the field holds that big-race entry so it could yet have a bearing again. Swansea Bay has won this race for the last two years, and, even though he is seven pounds higher than for last year's win, he might go well, although his rating of 145 will not make things easy. At least we know that Gunther McBride comes here in good heart following a recent Kempton win, a track at which he does so well. However, he was second in this race last year off a four-pound lower mark and can also go well again. With the 2002 Cathcart winner, Royal Auclair, promising second-season chaser D'Argent, who maybe has a bit to prove after his form tailed off last season, Double Honour, who made a fair return for the season behind Ballyvaddy at Chepstow last time, Maximise, who has been fourth in the last two runnings of this race and is still conceivably fairly handicapped if he is a going mood, Montreal, who is one-pound above a winning Perth mark in June, the formerly high-class Whitenzo, who makes a return to the track after 560 days but was good enough to be placed in the 2002 Hennessy Gold Cup from a 10 pounds higher mark in 2002, and the 2002 Whitbread Gold Cup winner, Bounce Back, who has now been given another chance by the handicapper, also in the field, a smashing race lies ahead. It is hard to be dogmatic in giving a selection but, for the reasons outlined, we will go for Gunther McBride.
