took keen hold, held up in touch, pushed along 3f out, no extra final 2f
held up in mid-division, behind final 3f
held up towards rear, kept on under pressure final 2f, nearest
took keen hold, held up in touch, chased leading pair over 2f out, unable to quicken final furlong
chased leaders, ridden 3f out, weakened over 2f out
chased leaders until weakened quickly 4f out
chased leaders until weakened just inside final 2f
held up towards rear, never a factor
took keen hold in touch, driven to lead over 1f out, edged right just inside final furlong, headed final strides
made most for well over 2f out, weakening when stumbled and unseated rider over 2f out
The vote here goes to Gotno Destination ahead of Chef de Cour, Senorita Rumbalita and, possibly, Needle Prick. Gotno Destination has to be of huge interest as he is sent over from Ireland from Tom Taaffe's in-form stable, one that stables such stars this season as Kicking King and Emotional Moment. The booking of Tony McCoy must also be considered of interest. Even though the race is a little hard to work out, Chef de Cour won well on his Ayr debut and must be afforded respect. Senorita Rumbalita looked good when scoring on her Newbury debut and, even though this is tougher, she warrants consideration. Her stablemate High Altitude has also shown enough to be given a chance here, although stable jockey Richard Thornton has elected to partner Senorita Rumbalita. Buena Vista has 6 lengths to find on that Newbury form. The Grey Man showed promise when second on his all-weather bumper debut at Lingfield but that race is a little hard to weigh up as they went no pace in the early stages. From the Nicky Henderson stable, Slick has to enter calculations, as does Needle Prick from the very much in-form Nigel Twiston Davies yard. Of the others, Oasis Banus played up on his hurdling debut, and Bollitree Bob and Openide have something to like on breeding. Overall, though, we will stick with the Irish raider and side with Gotno Destination.
