chased leaders, weakened from 8th
chased winner, mistake 6th, ridden and hung left from 3 out, beaten next
chased leaders, mistake 7th, soon weakened, pulled up before 8th
made all, ridden clear from 2 out
Penzance will hopefully put last season's woes behind him and is the pick ahead of Good Spirit, Lennon and Cherub. After landing the 2005 Triumph Hurdle, it was always going to be hard for Penzance to make the necessary improvement needed to turn into a real Champion Hurdle candidate, and he fell short on more than one occasion. However, he continued to run well in defeat, and can make up for lost time now that he has embarked on a career over fences. He basically beat trees on his chase debut at Hereford in May and faces a much sterner test on his reappearance, but is reported to be going well at home and is the pick. Paul Nicholls has been after Good Spirit for some time, and finally brought him to Ditcheat after the four-year-old had fallen when in with every chance in a Listed hurdle at Auteuil in June. He should give his new owners The Million In Mind Partnership plenty of fun during the winter. Lennon was one of the top bumper horses in the north a couple of years ago, but failed to make his mark as expected when sent hurdling. He rounded off last season with a handicap success at Perth, which leaves him with a bit to find, while Cherub scrambled home at Towcester and also faces a stern test of his credentials. Penzance has the class to prevail, and today will help tell us whether or not he is a worthy Arkle candidate.
Cherub (GER) 5-4fav (11-6) Held up in touch, headway approaching 2 out, ridden approaching last, led and edged left flat, ran on, won at Towcester 2m beg chs (4) gd beating Charlton Kings (11-6) by a nk, 6 ran.
Penzance 4-7fav (11-0) Prominent, led 3 out, ridden when left clear last, stayed on, won at Hereford 2m 3f beg chs (4) gf in May beating Curraheen Chief (10-12) by 6l, 8 ran.
Aegean Pirate (IRE) 100-1 (10-7) Always behind, tailed off when pulled up 2 out in race won by Nyrche (11-1) at Worcester 2m nov hdl (E) gd in May '04, 20 ran.
Lennon (IRE) 9-1 (11-2) Mid-division, headway 3 out, ridden next, stayed on strongly flat to lead towards finish, won at Perth 2m hcp hdl 0-120 (3) gd in Apr beating Sun King (10-1) by 1/2l, 15 ran.
Good Spirit (FR) (10-3) Led 3 out, going easily when fell at the last in race won by Oh Calin (10-6) at Auteuil 2m 2f hdl sft in Jun, 8 ran.
