held up, ridden over 7f out, soon weakened
held up mid-division, ridden over 4f out, headway over 3f out, led over 1f out, kept on under pressure
held up mid-division, lost place over 5f out
chased leader, led after 6f, headed 5f out, weakened well over 1f out
held up, headway 7f out, lost place over 5f out
chased leaders, ridden over 4f out, stayed on final furlong
led for 6f, chased leaders, led again 5f out, headed over 1f out, soon weakened
chased leaders, kept on same pace from over 1f out
in touch, chased leaders over 5f out, weakened over 3f out
held up, headway on inner over 3f out, every chance over 1f out until one pace final furlong
held up mid-division, driven and lost place over 5f out
Present Gesture catches the eye here hailing from the bumper specialist yard of Alan Swinbank's, the yard having also landed this contest twelve months ago with Turbo Linn. Just the one outing to date, the selection was considerably green on that occasion and connections have obviously decided to avoid the deep winter ground. The winner of that bumper Mic Aubin had three outings under his belt prior to that contest and would not be anything special but assuming Present Gesture has come on for that initial racecourse experience, she will take all the beating. There should not be much to choose Golden Run and Saddlers' Supreme on the evidence of their clash at Hexham in November and with riders claims taken into account but they both appear decidedly average. The market should be observed where Elzahann is concerned as she is a half sister to some decent performers in Ireland from a few seasons back while Loves Life has a respectable flat pedigree. Present Gesture does not need to be anything special to land this and her yard prime their charges for these contests so on that basis she is nominated.
Black Eyed Pea Grey Desire mare, half-sister to winning hurdler Catch The Pigeon and miler Toejam.
Elzahann (IRE) Saddlers' Hall mare, half-sister to several winning jumpers.
Floral Magic Alflora mare out of a moderate racemare.
Golden Run 8-1 (10-2) Tracked leaders, ridden over 3f out, soon outpaced, 6th of 17, 9l behind Cornerback (10-12) at Wetherby 2m mrs nhf (5) gd in Nov.
Hazy Oaks 8-1 (10-11) Mid-division, headway 7f out, outpaced over 3f out, soon weakened, 6th of 11, 34l behind Northern Blaze (11-1) at Sedgefield 2m 1f nhf (6) hvy in Feb.
Noneedtosaygoodbye (IRE) Exit To Nowhere mare out of a lightly-raced mare.
Present Gesture (IRE) 11-8fav (10-7) Mid-division, pushed along after 6f, ridden and headway 5f out, ran green, stayed on well final furlong, 2nd of 12, 1 1/2l behind Mic Aubin (11-0) at Hereford 2m 1f nhf (6) gf in Sept.
Rich Girl (IRE) 33-1 (11-2) Mid-division, weakened 4f out, last of 15, well behind Primrose Time (11-2) at Kelso 2m mrs nhf (5) sft in Feb.
Saddlers' Supreme (IRE) 14-1 (10-11) Mid-division and raced keen early, ridden and weakened from over 5f out, 8th of 11, 35l behind Doeslessthanme (10-1) at Musselburgh 2m nhf (5) gs in Feb.
She's So Lucky (IRE) 100-1 (10-4) Chased leaders until weakened 3f out, 8th of 15, 31l behind Touch of Irish (11-4) at Newcastle 2m nhf (6) gs in Jan.
Auberge (IRE) 80-1 (10-0) Raced wide in touch, weakened 3f out, 12th of 13, 18l behind Spanish Cruise (10-12) at Lingfield 1m 5f nhf (6) pol in Nov.
Eden Vixen (IRE) Karinga Bay filly out of a moderate racemare.
Elsies Nook Foxhound filly, half-sister to numerous winning sprinters.
Kafamber Kayf Tara filly out of winning hurdler Leading Note.
Loves Life Pursuit of Love filly, related to numerous winners from 5f-2m.
My Lady Tobougg filly, half-sister to winning stayer Himba.
