chased leader until after 2nd, jumped slowly 4th, lost place next, stayed on approaching last to take 4th flat, no chance with leaders
in touch, raced keenly, lost place 4th, mistake next, no chance when jumped badly right last 2, tailed off
mid-division, headway 3rd, ridden and weakened after 5th, tailed off
always in rear, jumped slowly 3rd, getting detached when jumped right next, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out
held up towards rear, ridden 5th, stayed on flat, never dangerous
mid-division, headway 5th, weakened 3 out
mid-division, pulled hard, hampered 2nd, headway after 3rd, mistake 4th and 5th, weakened 3 out
held up towards rear, headway after 5th, switched right to chase winner after 3 out, led last, hung left and headed flat, no extra
always prominent, led approaching 3 out, headed last, regained lead flat, driven out
prominent, chased leader after 2nd, jumped right final 3, weakened approaching 2 out
held up towards rear, headway after 5th, went 3rd after 3 out, weakened 2 out
led until approaching 3 out, weakened before 2 out
unruly before start, reluctant to race and lost many lengths, always in rear, tailed off
Following her close second last time at Uttoxeter, RHINESTONE RUBY is an obvious place to start and she is taken to see off Tribiani, Ragdollianna and Lapina. Neil Mulholland's daughter of Kayf Tara only went down by a whisker last time, losing out by a nose to Phoenix Des Mottes at Uttoxeter. She drops back in trip here which may not be ideal, but if she gets a solid tempo throughout then she can see off her rivals and provide jockey Robert Thornton with his sixth win for the trainer from just 17 rides. Not much was expected of Calusa Lily on her hurdling debut in March when she started at 100/1 and accordingly she was pulled up. She may improve dramatically on that with Richard Johnson up for the first time but she will certainly need to on her first start for Phillip Hobbs. Kangrina is modest on the flat and would only be interesting here if really well-backed, Lapina has been in fair form on the flat in races that have worked out well, and her fourth to Moment Present at Huntingdon in May reads ok here. Sweet As Pye may need more time judging by her hurdling debut at the track last month, so a bigger threat may be Tribiani who has run well here before and the booking of Tony McCoy catches the eye for a yard that have used him sparingly but well in the past. The only other horse to mention is Ragdollianna who is rated in the 70's on the flat and she won a bumper at Southwell just over a year ago and this may be her time of year. Rhinestone Ruby comes here in good form though and is taken to land a first hurdling success at the eighth time of asking.
Another Present (IRE) 28-1 (10-10) Mid-division, headway when mistake 4th, weakening when mistake 14th, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out, in a race won by Marked Man (11-4) at Hereford 3m 1f cond hcp hdl 0-105 (4) gf in Jun, 16 ran.
Calusa Lily (IRE) 100-1 (10-8) Held up towards rear, mistake 3rd, well behind after 6th, tailed off when pulled up before 7th, in a race won by Lindeman (10-8) at Warwick 2m 5f mdn hdl (4) gd in Mar, 18 ran.
Dancing Danoli 40-1 (11-7) Jnd ldrs 5; wkng when pu 12, in a race won by Special Portrait (11-7) at Bangor-on-dee 3m ptp gf in May, 12 ran.
Entertain Me 33-1 (10-10) Towards rear, pushed along over 6f out, headway over 4f out, weakened over 2f out, 7th of 15, 18l behind Call Me Mulligan (11-3) at Hereford 2m 1f mdn NH flat (5) gf in Jun.
Frosty's Gift 100-1 (8-12) Slowly into stride and always behind, 13th of 14, 32l behind Elna Bright (9-12) at Salisbury 7f clm stks (5) gf in Jun (flat).
Lapina (IRE) 66-1 (10-5) Held up in rear, headway 3 out, went 4th but beaten when went left and hit last, 4th of 11, 10l behind Moment Present (11-1) at Huntingdon 2m nh nov hdl (4) gd in May.
Meleeha 50-1 (10-2) Held up towards rear, pulled hard, headway over 8f out, weakened 3f out, 4th of 10, 38l behind The Jigsaw Man (10-9) at Stratford 2m NH flat (5) gf in Jun.
Ragdollianna 4-1fav (10-4) Held up, smooth headway over 3f out on outer, led on bit over 1f out, shaken up and drew clear, easily, won at Southwell 2m 1f N H flat (6) gd in Jun '08 beating Skipalong Breeze (10-12) by 8l, 14 ran.
Rhinestone Ruby 11-1 (11-12) Held up towards rear, raced keenly, hit 6th, headway next, went 2nd 3 out, hard ridden to lead close home, headed post, 2nd of 14, ns behind Phoenix Des Mottes (11-8) at Uttoxeter 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-95 (5) gd in Jun.
Sweet As Pye 28-1 (10-5) Mid-division, not fluent 1st, ridden 3 out and held, 6th of 13, 40l behind Factotum (11-5) at Worcester 2m nh nov hdl (4) gf in Jun.
Tribiani (IRE) 15-2 (10-10) Held up towards rear, blundered 4th, some headway when badly hampered 3 out, no impression, 5th of 15, 36l behind Miss Phoebe (11-3) at Stratford 2m hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gf in Jun.
Bathwick Minstrel 40-1 (9-12) Mid-division, headway approaching 6th, led after 3 out, ridden and headed before next, weakened approaching last, 5th of 16, 12l behind Stumped (10-12) at Newton Abbot 2m 3f sell hdl (5) gd in Jun.
New Minerton (IRE) 100-1 (10-1) Immediately detached, mistake 4th, soon pulled up, in a race won by King Keano (11-0) at Stratford 2m mdn hdl (4) gf in Jun, 16 ran.
Kangrina 66-1 (11-2) Held up towards rear, not fluent 3rd, tailed off from 3 out, last of 10, well behind Whiteoak (11-8) at Ascot 2m nh nov hdl (3) gd in Feb '08.
