chased leaders, went 2nd 2 out, hard ridden after last, stayed on, no impression on winner
chased leaders, ridden 14th, outpaced from 4 out, no danger after
mid-division, headway 8th, weakened 12th
behind from 3rd, ridden 9th, tailed off when pulled up before 13th
held up towards rear, hit 9th, no chance when blundered badly and unseated rider 3 out
took keen hold in touch, not fluent 4th, blundered 8th, weakened 13th, tailed off when pulled up before 15th
always behind, tailed off when pulled up before 13th
held up, headway after 9th, weakened approaching 4 out
mid-division, headway 9th, hit 13th, weakened 3 out, well behind when pulled up and dismounted flat
held up, headway 13th, stayed on well, nearest finish
always prominent, led 4 out, stayed on gamely
held up in touch, ridden 6th, jumped slowly 7th, soon behind, tailed off when pulled up before 13th
led, ridden approach 13th, headed 4 out, weakened 2 out
Jonjo O'Neill has his string in fine form at present and may well score again here courtesy of the reappearing Be The Tops, who holds more solid claims than main rivals Carriage Ride and Lambrini Bianco. The last mentioned has a nice racing weight but will not find things easy from 5lbs out of the weights proper and faces a more difficult task than when successful at Southwell two starts ago. The 11-year-old Carnacrack has returned from a spell point-to-pointing on a fair mark and has to be considered along with Robber, who has shown improved form for the switch to Peter Bowen's stable but is now probably a shade high in the handicap. Ikdam Melody has claims on the pick of his form but disappointed at Hexham last time and may be best watched at present so a bigger threat is likely to come from Carriage Ride. The Nicky Richards-trained gelding has an obvious chance at the weights but has yet to prove his effectiveness on ground this fast and a safer bet looks to be Be The Tops, who is taken to make a winning return for Jonjo O'Neill and Tony McCoy.
Be The Tops (IRE) 2-1fav (11-3) Prominent, ridden when hit 14th, weakening when left poor 2nd briefly approaching last, 3rd of 7, 28l behind Croc An Oir (10-10) at Bangor 3m hcp chs 0-120 (D) gd in Aug.
Robber (IRE) 4-1fav (10-10) Mid-division, headway 8th, ridden 15th, weakened after next, tailed off when pulled up at the last in race won by Excellent Vibes (10-0) at Hereford 3m 1f hcp chs 0-110 (E) gf in Jun, 16 ran.
Iron Express 33-1 (9-9) Chased leaders to halfway, soon lost place, tailed off when pulled up 5 out in race won by Tom's Prize (10-12) at Wetherby 3m 1f hcp chs 0-130 (C) gd in Apr, 12 ran.
Carriage Ride (IRE) 9-1 (11-12) Led or disputed lead to 4 out, ridden and outpaced 2 out, stayed on and every chance final furlong, no extra towards finish, 2nd of 7, 1 1/2l behind Billy Ballbreaker (11-1) at Cartmel 3m 2f hcp chs 0-100 (F) gs in May.
Ikdam Melody (IRE) 16-1 (11-0) Towards rear, struggling when mistake 11th, behind when pulled up 4 out in race won by Toad Hall (9-9) at Hexham 2m 4f hcp chs 0-100 (F) gf in Jun, 14 ran.
Cill Uird (IRE) 66-1 (9-7) 4th of 14, 10l behind September Moon (10-13) at Perth 3m hcp hdl 0-110 (E) gf in Jun.
Carnacrack 9-1 (10-12) Tracked leaders, hard ridden to challenge 4 out, every chance next, ridden and one pace after 2 out, 2nd of 11, 8l behind Arctic Lagoon (10-1) at Hexham 3m 1f hcp chs 0-95 (F) gf in May.
Lambrini Bianco (IRE) 10-3fav (9-8) Led or disputed lead to 4 out, ridden and outpaced 2 out, stayed on under pressure to challenge over 1f out, no extra towards finish, 3rd of 7, 1 1/2l behind Billy Ballbreaker (11-1) at Cartmel 3m 2f hcp chs 0-100 (F) gs in May.
