in touch, headway 9th, ridden approaching 14th, weakening when mistake 3 out
led to 5th, chased leader, ridden 10th, weakened quickly after 12th, tailed off when pulled up before next
tracked leaders, lost place 10th, rallied to go 2nd approaching 3 out, led last, driven out
behind, headway 11th, hit next, mistake 14th, soon ridden, weakened 3 out
held up, struggling from 10th, took poor 3rd last
jumped right, with leader, led 5th, clear 3 out, ridden after 2 out, headed last, stayed on
The two to look out for in this contest are Mensch and Batten Down with the vote going to the last named. The Jonjo O¿Neill charge came good the third time of asking over fences at Stratford last time out when beating Nocksky. Although he takes a hike in the weights we feel there is more to come from this gelding and with confidence in the camp this horse can follow up on that success. His main rival Mensch comes from the in form Evan Williams yard and won well at Fontwell last week after some horrendous mistakes. He needs to be settled at the back of the field to switch himself off early on so do not expect him to be prominent. The fences at Bangor will suit him better than Fontwell but with the seven pound penalty he might struggle to recapture that form. So for the winner we return to Batten Down.
