made all, reduced lead approaching straight, soon pushed along, stayed on well inside final furlong
raced in 4th, closed up approaching halfway, soon 3rd, 2nd approaching straight, soon pushed along, 3rd again under 2f out and no impression, one pace
raced in 2nd, 3rd approaching straight, 2nd again under 2f out, kept on without matching winner inside final furlong
raced in 3rd, 4th halfway, dropped to last over 3f out, soon no extra, tailed off
in rear, 4th over 3f out, soon pushed along and no impression
Minella Encore only had half-a-length to spare when landing the odds at Fairyhouse and has to concede weight for age to a couple of potentially useful rivals here. DALY TIGER easily landed a Thurles bumper before finishing runner-up to Real Steel over hurdles on the same track. The winner may have won a Grade 1 over timber here on Wednesday but for a last-flight fall so the form looks very strong and Noel Meade's charge gets the nod on his return to bumper company. The Gunner Murphy travelled well throughout when scoring at Galway in October and will have come on markedly for the experience.
Minella Encore (IRE) 4-9fav (12-0) Tracked leader in 2nd, ridden in 2nd 2f out, led over 1f out, stayed on well under pressure inside final furlong, all out, won at Fairyhouse 2m sft in Dec beating Narcissistic (12-0) by 1/2l, 5 ran.
Daly Tiger (FR) 3-1 (11-7) Prominent, soon 2nd, on terms 2 out, soon headed and kept on without matching winner, 2nd of 18, 4 1/2l behind Real Steel (11-2) at Thurles 2m mdn sft in Nov.
The Gunner Murphy (IRE) 9-2 (11-7) Tracked leaders on inner, 4th approaching halfway, led travelling smoothly 2f out, drifted left to stand's side rail straight, pressed and stayed on best closing stages, won at Galway 2m 1f sft in Oct beating First Approach (11-7) by 1/2l, 13 ran.
Reach Up 25-1 (11-7) Chased leader, 5th halfway, closer 5f out, pushed along and no impression in 4th entering straight, kept on one pace, 4th of 9, 12 1/2l behind Tower Bridge (11-7) at Ballinrobe 2m gd in May.
Hollow Crest (IRE) 5-1 (11-6) Held up towards rear, pushed along and some headway approaching straight, ridden in 4th 2f out and no impression in 3rd over 1f out, kept on one pace, 3rd of 10, 10 1/4l behind Motown Girl (11-6) at Limerick 2m sft in Dec.
