prominent, ridden approaching 3 out, headway under pressure approaching 2 out, hard ridden and ran on well from last, not reach winner
held up last, ridden 3 out, weakened approaching 2 out
chased leader and pulled early, headway 5th led after 3 out, ridden approaching 2 out, hit last, hard ridden flat, ran on gamely
led and set fast pace, ridden and headed after 3 out, stayed on same pace
Well Chief is the confident choice here but there are a plethora of dangers and Quazar, Castleshane and Rigmarole are all worthy of consideration. The selection hails from the Martin Pipe yard and he was a fair third behind Le Duc at Aintree last April. That run came at the end of a hard season and Well Chief looks one to follow now that he has had a break. He goes well fresh and won after a break last season, beating Thesis at Taunton, so therefore is the confident choice here. Quazar has to be respected and he won well when beating Back in Front at Punchestown last time, but he may struggle under the burden of top weight. Castleshane is fit from a busy season on the flat and is a game frontrunner, but he is not sure to get an easy lead here so is therefore opposable. Rigmarole beat Saspys Lad at Kempton last time, but that form was let down on Thursday when Saspys Lad ran disappointingly at Haydock. This is a good competitive race, but we are happy to side with Well Chief.
