chased leader after 1st, left in lead briefly when badly hampered 8th, ridden after 3 out, one pace flat
mid-division, headway 7th, left in lead after 8th, quickened clear flat, easily
prominent, ridden when not fluent 7th, soon weakened
held up, headway 4th, every chance 3 out, ridden when hit last, stayed on same pace
always behind, tailed off when pulled up after 7th
led and not fluent, 3 lengths clear when fell 8th
in touch, lost place 6th, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out
in touch to 3rd, tailed off when pulled up after 7th
behind, some headway after 9th, soon weakened
in touch to 4th, tailed off when pulled up before 9th
Black Jack Ketchum has to be the selection in a weak looking affair, Heltornic and Bally's Bro are also expected to be involved in the finish. Jonjo O'Neill's gelding looked a future hurdling star when landing back to back bumpers. When defying his penalty he absolutely murdered his rivals in the style of a decent horse and he looks a classy recruit to the hurdling game. Heltornic also landed a bumper last campaign and didn't do too badly in a top race at Aintree, she looks the obvious threat to the selection. Bally's Bro showed plenty of promise when chasing home Unjust Law in a Ludlow bumper back in May and is certainly bred to be a decent enough hurdler. The best of the others should be Henrietta Knight's Smart Mover, but on his bumper form Black Jack Ketchum will take all the beating and he gets the verdict.
Bally's Bro (IRE) 5-1jt-fav (10-9) Led, ridden and hung left over 1f out, headed when unable to quicken inside final furlong, 2nd of 13, 2l behind Unjust Law (10-9) at Ludlow 2m nhf (H) gd in May.
Black Jack Ketchum (IRE) 2-7fav (11-6) Tracked leaders, led over 1f out, soon clear, readily, won at Worcester 2m nhf (H) gd in Jul '04 beating Call Me Anything (11-1) by 8l, 14 ran.
Smart Mover 7-2 (10-12) Tracked leaders until 5th, ridden 3 out, soon weakened, 4th of 8, 18l behind Fire Ranger (10-12) at N Abbot 2m 3f nh nov hdl (D) gf in Aug.
Thorny Issue 20-1 (11-7) Held up in mid-division, reminders 6th, weakened 8th, tailed off when pulled up in race won by Scarrabus (10-7) at Fontwell 2m 2f mdn chs (E) gf in Sept, 7 ran.
Heltornic (IRE) 12-1 (11-4) Led until headed 3f out, one pace final 2f, 3rd of 17, 16l behind Senorita Rumbalita (10-12) at Aintree 2m 1f nhf lst (A) gs in Apr.
Ladies From Leeds 20-1 (10-7) Made all until mistake and headed 8th, lost place next, soon beaten, 8th of 16, 35l behind Ben Britten (11-11) at Perth 3m hcp hdl 0-100 (F) gf in Jul.
Lady Spur (IRE) 33-1 (10-6) Ridden halfway, always behind, virtually pulled up final 3f, 11th of 12, well behind Fourty Acers (11-1) at Stratford 2m nhf (H) gd in Sept.
Red Square Knight (IRE) 5-2 (12-0) 2nd of 10, 12l behind Shaking Chief (12-0) at Brampton Bryan 3m ptp gs in Mar '04.
