held up, headway 7th, chased leader next, ridden and weakened 2 out
held up, headway after 3 out, kept on, never troubled leaders
held up, headway 3 out, led approaching 2 out, soon headed, blundered last, no extra
held up, headway 4 out, led 2 out, ran on well
tracked leaders, headway 7th, stumbled after 3 out, stayed on well final furlong
held up, headway 3 out, stayed on same pace from 2 out
led, soon clear, headed and weakened after 6th, pulled up before next
held up, ridden and headway 3 out, never on terms
held up, headway after 3 out, soon one pace
held up, blundered and unseated rider 3 out
tracked leader, jumped left throughout, led after 6th, hit 8th, ridden 3 out, headed approaching next, soon weakened
held up, never dangerous
chased leaders, ridden 5th, weakened before 4 out
always behind
Nonrunner
Zygomatic showed decent form when last seen at Aintree in June and, with Keith Mercer again taking the ride, he gets the vote to go one better and is preferred to Qualitair Pleasure and Ipledgeallegiance. The last mentioned is capable of taking a hand in the finish but is not the most reliable of performers and is probably best watched today. Panmure has not had much racing over hurdles in recent season but is potentially well treated back over timber today, while Suits Me Fine has to be respected on only his second start for Jonjo O'Neill. Richard Guest's Astronaut has been performing well in selling handicaps of late but this looks tougher, while Slalom has rather harshly gone up another 4lbs despite not winning last time. A bigger threat may come from Qualitair Pleasure, who lost little in defeat at Uttoxeter last time but it may be significant that Keith Mercer prefers Zygomatic and he gets the vote.
Idlewild (IRE) 7-2 (10-12) Behind, never dangerous, 5th of 13, 38l behind Harry Potter (10-12) at Southwell 2m 1f sll hdl (G) gf.
Ipledgeallegiance (USA) 16-1 (10-11) Toward rear, headway approaching sixth ridden approaching 2 out, stayed on from last, 4th of 15, 5l behind Hilltime (11-0) at Market Rasen 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-110 (E) gf in May.
Slalom (IRE) 9-4fav (10-11) Held up, headway approaching 2 out, mistake last, ran on, 2nd of 18, 3/4l behind Doris Souter (10-9) at Worcester 2m mdn hdl (E) gf.
Zygomatic 25-1 (10-7) Held up, ridden and headway approaching 2 out, stayed on well flat to go 2nd post, 2nd of 15, 4l behind My Lady Link (10-13) at Aintree 3m hcp hdl 0-110 (E) gd in Jun.
Qualitair Pleasure 5-1 (10-9) Behind, ridden and headway approaching 2 out, kept on to go 2nd approaching last, no chance with winner, 2nd of 13, 12l behind Lilac (10-0) at Uttoxeter 2m 4f mrs hcp hdl (E) gs in Jul.
Panmure (IRE) 14-1 (10-12) Held up and behind, tailed off from 4 out, 6th of 8, well behind Be The Tops (11-3) at Market Rasen 3m 1f hcp chs 0-115 (D) gf in Jul.
Caper 33-1 (10-5) Held up mid-division, driven 5th, weakened 2 out, 8th of 20, 25l behind Silence Reigns (11-0) at Worcester 2m 4f clm hdl (F) gf.
Astronaut 5-2fav (11-1) Held up, headway and mistake 8th, ridden 3 out, stayed on to go 2nd flat, eased and lost place towards finish, 3rd of 16, 7l behind Idlewild (11-6) at Uttoxeter 2m 6f cnd sll hcp hdl (G) gf in Jun.
