held up, in touch, ridden approaching 2 out, chased winner last but no chance
towards rear, headway 5th, ridden 3 out, weakened 2 out
tracked leaders, ridden and weakened after 5th
held up in touch, weakened 3 out
held up and keen, headway after 3 out, kept on
mid-division and keen, weakening when jumped left 5th, behind when hampered 3 out
towards rear, mistake 3 out, jumped right 5th and 6th and bumped, soon weakened
led and soon clear, ridden 2 out, weakening when headed soon after
tracked leader, ridden and weakened approaching last
mid-division, headway 5th, ridden and weakened approaching 2 out
soon tailed off and jumped poorly
mid-division, steady headway 5th, led on bit after 2 out, clear last, pushed out
Fantastisch, Country Affair and Masterpoint are the three to catch the eye here, with Fantastisch the selection. Placed on the Flat at Wolverhampton, Country Affair stayed on to take third at Huntingdon on his hurdling bow. Promising though that was, Country Affair looks ordinary and is taken on here. Masterpoint only won a seller last time, and although he has won claimers on the Flat, he looks potentially outclassed here and is also passed over. Fantastisch won a Sandown handicap on the Flat and although finishing two and a half lengths behind Country Affair last time, he made his move a bit early on that occasion. Ridden with more restraint here, Fantastisch can get off the mark over hurdles.
Masterpoint 7-2fav (11-1) Keen in touch, led soon after 3 out, clear approaching last, ran on, comfortably, won at Huntingdon 2m cnd sll hcp hdl (5) gf in May beating Let's Celebrate (11-5) by 6l, 14 ran.
Mossmann Gorge 10-1 (8-11) Mid-division, headway on inside 4f out, weakened 3f out, 11th of 13, 35l behind Bolckow (8-9) at Southwell 1m 4f hcp (6) fbs in Jan (Flat).
Shahnameh (IRE) 100-1 (11-0) In rear, struggling badly over 7f out, tailed off, last of 18, well behind Schiehallion (11-0) at Newbury 2m 4yo nhf (4) hvy in Nov.
Swords 8-1 (9-5) Chased leaders, went 2nd over 3f out, weakened well inside final furlong, 3rd of 10, 6l behind Adage (8-11) at W'hampton 1m 6f hcp 0-65 (6) pol in May (Flat).
Tayman (IRE) 5-2fav (11-2) In touch, driven 3 out, weakened before 2 out, 4th of 12, 25l behind No Regrets (11-2) at Towcester 2m 3f mdn hdl (4) gd in May.
Vibe 33-1 (10-12) Held up, headway 3 out, ridden when mistake last, weakened flat, 3rd of 12, 7l behind Kanad (11-5) at Worcester 2m nov hdl (4) gf in Apr.
Fantastisch (IRE) 13-8fav (10-3) Tracked leaders, led before 3 out, headed approaching next, weakened after last, 4th of 17, 10l behind Golden Alchemist (10-10) at Huntingdon 2m nov hdl (4) gf in May.
Abstract Art (USA) 40-1 (8-10) Led after 2f, ridden and headed over 2f out, soon hampered, weakened and eased over 1f out, 13th of 15, 38l behind Tcherina (8-2) at York 1m 4f hcp 0-85 (4) gd in May (Flat).
