held up in touch, outpaced 3 out, never on terms, weakened before last
tracked leaders, driven and lost place before 5th, no impression after, weakened 2 out, tailed off
tracked winner, not fluent 3 out, driven between last 2, kept on same pace approaching last, ridden and no impression when lost narrow 2nd flat
made all, driven between last 2, ridden and stayed on well flat
held up in touch, headway when hit 3 out, went 3rd after next, ridden before last, stayed on to take narrow 2nd flat, no impression with winner
in rear, struggling after 2nd, never dangerous
tracked leaders, driven and outpaced 2 out, no impression in 4th between last 2
An interesting heat with MONTEFELTRO taken to score in the hope that he could be significantly better than this grade after hacking up in a modest Fontwell hurdle last time. He's not too badly treated on this handicap bow and the Ferguson yard is going along strongly at present. Agricultural is a possible off the bottom rung whilst Overpriced, a good winner last time at Perth, is not discounted from the other end of the weights. Foxcub improved on previous efforts when scoring last time and could come on again but the main threat looks to be Baccalaureate. He returned from over a year off when only beaten less than two lengths by Super Collider at Bangor, form that affords him every chance here if not bouncing.
Overpriced 15-2 (11-0) Tracked leader until 5th, slightly hampered and left 2nd 2 out, closed on leader last, led flat, ridden out, won at Perth 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-110 (4) gd in May beating Notarfbad (11-9) by 1 1/2l, 9 ran.
The Weatherman (IRE) 7-1 (11-5) Mid-division, mistake 6th, weakened before 3 out, pulled up before next, in a race won by One Lucky Lady (11-0) at Uttoxeter 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gd in May, 12 ran.
Montefeltro 1-2fav (10-11) Tracked leaders in 3rd, challenged on bit 3 out, soon led, blundered 2 out, kept on from last, won at Fontwell 2m 2f mdn hdl (4) gs in May beating Foxes Bridge (11-0) by 6l, 9 ran.
Baccalaureate (FR) 5-1 (10-10) Led, ridden and headed last, faded flat, 3rd of 8, 1 3/4l behind Super Collider (11-1) at Bangor 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-120 (4) gd in May.
Foxcub (IRE) 6-1 (11-9) Tracked leader, led before 2 out, clear before last, stayed on strongly, won at Southwell 2m hcp hdl 0-95 (5) gd in May beating Pobs Trophy (10-3) by 7l, 13 ran.
Word of Warning 7-1 (11-11) Held up mid-division, headway before 8th, weakened after 4 out, tailed off, 13th of 15, well behind Everdon Brook (10-11) at Musselburgh 3m hcp hdl 0-100 (5) gs in Dec.
Agricultural 11-2 (11-7) Chased leaders, went 2nd 4th, led approaching 2 out, ridden and joined when bumped before last, kept slight advantage until headed final 110 yards, kept on, 2nd of 10, 1/2l behind Brother Scott (10-2) at Sedgefield 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-100 (5) gd in May.
Smart Catch (IRE) 14-1 (11-2) Held up mid-division, hit 3rd, pushed along and lost place 4th, headway after 3 out, weakened before 2 out, 7th of 10, 29l behind Coffee (11-8) at Market Rasen 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gd in May.
