finished 18th placed 17th, in touch driven after 6th, soon weakened
finished 2nd placed last, tracked leaders, led 6, mistake 3 out, edged left before next, headed before last, kept on same pace flat
finished 11th placed 10th, led to 6th, weakened before 3 out
finished 5th, placed 4th, held up, headway and mistake 3 out, kept on from last
tracked leaders, ridden to lead, mistake last, driven out
finished 9th placed 8th, held up, mistake 4th, never nearer
finished 4th, placed 3rd, not fluent 3rd, held up, steady headway and mistake 6th every chance when not much room and hampered 2 out, ridden and 1 paced before last
finished 17th placed 16th, held up, some headway 7th, mistake and weakened 3 out
finished 15th placed 14th, chased leader, hit 3 out and weakened
finished 7th placed 6th, in mid-division, hit 4 out, kept on under pressure from 2 out, nearest finish
finished 3rd placed 2nd, held up, steady headway 6th, tracked leaders and going well before 2 out, ridden and outpaced before last, stayed on under pressure flat
finished 16th placed 15th, prominent, behind from 5th
finished 14th placed 13th, held up, headway 6th, weakened next
finished 12th placed 11th, prominent until weakened 3 out
finished 6th placed 5th, held up in mid-division, mistake 6th, kept on from 3 out, not pace to challenge
finished 8th placed 7th, held up, nearest finish
finished 10th placed 9th, held up, mistake 4 out, struggling from next
finished 13th placed 12th always behind
A highly competitive renewal with a number of leading contenders but statistics point to the favourite with seven of the last 11 runnings going to the market leader. With that in mind, Pizarro looks the horse to concentrate on having dominated the ante-post lists following an impressive campaign over hurdles since landing the Festival bumper from Rhinestone Cowboy twelve months ago. Edward O'Grady's charge has taken well to hurdling with wide-margin wins over two-and-a-half miles at Down Royal and Navan either side of his sole career defeat when subsequently found to have suffered a throat problem. The son of Broken Hearted faces by far his stiffest test to date but looks up to the challenge on a track that clearly suits and gets the vote. Coolnagorna comes here on a four-timer and looked particularly impressive when hacking up over this trip in the Grade 1 Challow Hurdle at Newbury. However, there is a strong suspicion that Jonjo O'Neill's charge ideally prefers more testing conditions to show his best. Hardy Eustace and Puntal both look sure to appreciate the step up to this trip while Lord Sam, who remains unbeaten from five career starts, and Foreman, who put up a high-class performance at Kempton last time, are others to consider in a fascinating opener.
