always behind, tailed off 3 out
in touch, headway 6th, ridden approaching 3 out, soon weakened
held up, headway 6th, ridden approaching 3 out, soon weakened
chased leader, led 5th, ridden and headed 3 out, weakened next
led, mistake and headed 5th, not fluent and weakened next
chased leaders, led 3 out, ridden and headed approaching last, weakened flat
held up in rear, headway 8th, ridden to lead approaching last, rider dropped whip flat, headed and no extra last strides
mid-division, headway approaching 3 out, ridden 2 out, ran on to lead last strides
behind from 7th, pulled up towards finish, lame
held up and behind, headway 7th, ridden 3 out, kept on one pace
Smurfit Champion Hurdle winner Rooster Booster makes his first appearance since winning at Cheltenham and, if staying the slightly longer trip, should have little difficulty in securing another success. The Philip Hobbs-trained gelding has gone from handicap nearly horse to superstar in a matter of months and is on a five race unbeaten run this term. So impressive was the son of Riverwise at the Festival, that it is impossible to oppose him here. Self Defense (fourth), Like-A-Butterfly (tenth), Copeland (fell) and Hors La Loi (refused to race), all reoppose again but are surely only running for place prize money. Geos reverts to hurdling having run over fences at Cheltenham but his stable is struggling for winners and a better bet for the forecast looks to be one of the less exposed horses. Howard Johnson has a fine record at Aintree and his Lord Transcend has done nothing but improve all season. However, this is a big step up in class for him and more solid claims are held by Irish challenger Sacundai. Edward O'Grady's gelding has done little wrong this term, stays 2m4f well and looks the main danger to the favourite despite the ground being a little lively for him.
