towards rear, headway when ridden to chase leader home turn, pressed leader 3 out, a length adrift when ridden in 2nd 2 out, held in 2nd last and no extra run-in
tracked leader, pushed along after 4 out, soon ridden and outpaced towards rear, never nearer closing stages
towards rear, ridden after 3 out, went remote 4th 2 out, never a factor
made all, led, not fluent 9th, pressed 3 out, fought off challenge and kicked clear after 2 out, led last, kept on gamely
mid-division, niggled in rear 7th, soon ridden and tailed off before 3 out
tracked leader, ridden and outpaced briefly after 3 out, ran on strongly after the last and almost went second dying strides
tracked leader, outpaced and well held after 3 out
COSTLY DIAMOND encounters faster going having completed a double at Sedgefield. But she defied a 6lb rise to win easily last time and a further hike in the weights is unlikely to prevent the hat-trick given her current frame of mind. Torrent Des Mottes returned to winning ways at Huntingdon last week, though a 7lb penalty may anchor him, but Shady Oaks was still well beaten when second over 3m here recently and remains without a win over fences in 18 attempts. Eclat Des Mottes looked like placing at Catterick but came a cropper at the last but is preferred to Larch Hill if managing a clear round.
Larch Hill (IRE) 15-2 (11-6) Raced keenly, held up towards rear, pulled his way to dispute lead after 6th, headed and ridden after 3 out, weakened before 2 out, 9th of 12, 24 3/4l behind Mr Caffrey (11-0) at Taunton 2m 3f (5) gd in Nov.
Eclat Des Mottes (FR) 40-1 (11-2) Prominent, pressed leader 5th, narrowly led 6th, went clear on home bend, headed 2 out, pushed along and chased leader when fell last, at Catterick 2m hcp (4) sft in Dec.
Downbythestrand (IRE) 33-1 (11-0) Held up in last trio, closer in 4th at 12th, plugged on, 4th of 7, 19 1/4l behind Go Steady (11-6) at Huntingdon 2m 4f hcp (4) sft in Feb.
Costly Diamond (IRE) 3-1 (10-11) Made all, jumped well, pushed out, won at Sedgefield 2m hcp (5) gs in Mar beating Elixer (10-0) by 14l, 7 ran.
Shady Oaks (IRE) 7-1 (10-11) Tracked leaders, ridden before 13th, reminders home turn, went modest second 3 out, not fluent 2 out, kept on but no match for winner, 2nd of 6, 25l behind First Class Return (11-3) at Southwell 3m hcp (4) gs in Mar.
Torrent Des Mottes (FR) 9-1 (10-5) Prominent, travelled well to lead 2 out, joined last, ridden to lead after last, always doing enough, won at Huntingdon 2m hcp (5) gs in Mar beating Go As You Please (11-12) by 1/2l, 10 ran.
The City Cobbler 40-1 (10-0) Held up in rear, some headway on outside 4 out, mistake 3 out, no impression, 5th of 10, 34 1/4l behind Ben Brody (11-6) at Ludlow 2m hcp (5) sft in Feb.
