held up behind leaders, improved 4 out, soon went close 2nd, well held from after 2 out
led, mistake 5th, not fluent 9th, headed 4 out, weakened before 2 out
tracked leaders, mistake 2nd, led and mistake 4 out, drawing clear when jumped right 2 out, went right again last, stayed on well
took keen hold, tracked leader until 4 out, weakened next, pulled up before 2 out
Nonrunner
Cold Harbour goes well here and is finally starting to come down the weights again but the opposite is true of Carabinier, who is still 8lb higher than when successful at Leicester in February and hasn't shown a great deal in two subsequent starts. A case can certainly be made for Battlecry, however, who ran his best race for a long time when just caught by Ballyfoy over a much longer trip at Cheltenham. Willie Twiston-Davies will try and make the most of his stamina here. Qaspal has shown some promise but is conceding a lot of weight to BACKSTREET BILLY, for whom little went right at Southwell last time. He deserves another chance to add to an earlier C&D victory as he still has time on his side.
Qaspal (FR) 8-1 (10-10) Held up, not fluent 2nd, mistake 6th, not happy after, behind when not fluent 8th, pulled up before next, in a race won by Mad Moose (11-10) at Cheltenham 2m 5f nov ltd hcp chs 0-135 (3) sft in Apr, 6 ran.
Battlecry 16-1 (10-5) Prominent, led 3rd, 5 lengths clear before 2 out, driven and reduced lead after last, headed flat, stayed on, held close home, 2nd of 14, 1/2l behind Ballyfoy (11-7) at Cheltenham 3m 4f hcp chs 0-130 (3) gs in Apr.
Romanesco (FR) 20-1 (11-5) Always behind, blundered 2nd, tailed off 10th, 5th of 7, well behind Dinarius (11-7) at Chepstow 2m 3f hcp chs 0-120 (4) gs in Apr.
Backstreet Billy (IRE) 15-8fav (11-9) Held up in rear but in touch, blundered badly 7th and reins went over horses head, continued until rider managed to pull up soon after 10th, in a race won by Noble Legend (11-2) at Southwell 2m 4f hcp chs 0-105 (4) sft in Apr, 6 ran.
Carabinier (FR) 10-1 (11-4) Chased leading pair, went 2nd 6th, led but hanging left from 14th, headed when mistake and stumbled 4 out, no extra in 3rd 3 out, weakened to 4th before last, 4th of 9, 22l behind Rockabilly (11-4) at Ffos Las 3m 1f hcp chs 0-120 (4) gd in Apr.
Cold Harbour 6-1 (11-2) Chased leaders, 4th and outpaced 5 out, plugged on to go moderate 3rd after last, no chance with front pair, 3rd of 5, 21l behind Take Of Shoc's (11-2) at Chepstow 2m hcp chs 0-115 (4) sft in Apr.
