prominent, led approaching 7th, clear from 2 out, eased run in
not fluent, held up, mistake 1st, went 2nd approaching 3rd, chased winner until weakened 3 out
held up in touch, headway to chase winner from 3 out, kept on well from next but no impression on winner
keen hold in touch, outpaced from 4 out
led in start, in rear, blundered and lost touch 5th, jumped left 3 out, tailed off and pulled up before next
led to 6th, soon lost place and struggling from 8th, tailed off
A disappointing turn out from a quality perspective but plenty to ponder over. Brian Ellison has hardly been quiet about his thoughts on Batswing and the Punchestown winner is sure to be well supported on his seasonal reappearance. Returning (bar her last race) did nothing wrong in her defeats last season. After taking on the likes of Fondmort and Seebald last season, this paradoxically is almost a drop in class. Chergan makes a long trip South for Sue Bradburne. He has performed perfectly well in lower grade but this is way beyond anything he has tackled thus far. Running Man has good form figures but can make blunders on account of his urgings to jump too quickly. The TEAMtalk nod is given to Davoski. Venetia Williams is more than capable of getting them ready first time out and overall, his form against seasoned chasers leaves less guesswork in the equation.
