mid-division, headway 4th, weakening when jumped slowly 6th, tailed off on 7th
blundered 5th, always towards rear
mid-division, headway 5th, led 3 out to 2 out, jumped left and not fluent last, one pace
mid-division, headway after 7th, hung left after last, not troubled leaders
held up towards rear, headway when not fluent 5th, jumped slowly 7th, every chance 3 out, slightly hampered last, one pace
held up, ridden after 7th, never dangerous
held up towards rear, ridden 7th, never dangerous
led to 3 out, weakened after 2 out
prominent, ridden approaching 3 out, weakened approaching last
held up in touch, ridden and weakened approaching 3 out
held up towards rear, headway approaching 7th, ridden approaching 3 out, led 2 out, ran on well
with leader, ridden after 7th, weakened 2 out
prominent until weakened rapidly approaching 5th, tailed off when pulled up before 6th
held up in touch, weakened approaching 6th
held up in touch, ridden and behind from approaching 7th
Orion Express is selected to get the better of Airgusta, M'Lord and Lupin, with Panthers Run and Uncle Max expected to at least be involved. With no less than 18 runners declared, this should be a wide-open contest, but those at the top of the handicap appear to hold the strongest claims, and we shall plump for Orion Express. The five-year-old is on the upgrade judged by the way that he disposed of his rivals at Newton Abbot last time, coming home by 16-lengths, and as that was only his second outing of the whole year, he must be fancied to make the most of this handicap opportunity. Airgusta only beat four rivals at Southwell last time, but carried plenty of weight and did nothing wrong, so he is a leading player along with M'Lord who bounced back from a six-month break to score at Stratford in July. The likes of Panthers Run, Uncle Max and Rabbit further down the weights, can all be considered for place claims on what they have shown, but there could be plenty more to come from ex-Flat performer Orion Express, and he can pay to follow.