held up behind front pair, closed 4 out, ridden before last, held by winner flat, kept on
held up, slow 3rd, closed 4 out, outpaced after 2 out, weakened before last
tracked winner, led briefly when not fluent 3rd, weakened quickly after 4 out, pulled up after 2 out
held up in last, mistake 4 out, headway 3 out, shaken up before last, soon beaten, no extra flat
held up behind front pair, closed 4 out, ridden and not quicken before last, kept on flat
made virtually all, kept on well from last, ridden out
Redicean saw his unbeaten record ended in the Triumph Hurdle here in March. All three of his victories have come at Kempton and he still has a bit to prove on stiffer tracks. Eragon De Chanay and Esprit De Somoza both finished behind Padleyourowncanoe in the Fred Winter and are worse off at the weights. Colin Tizzard’s charge made a more-than-satisfactory reappearance under a big weight at Chepstow two weeks ago. That showed he handles a quicker surface and he’s preferred to Redicean, who is conceding 8lb, but he could find GUMBALL (NAP) a tough nut to crack. Though beaten by Esprit De Somoza at Huntingdon back in January, he was second in a Grade 1 at Aintree in April when Padleyourowncanoe finished last.
Redicean 4-1jfav (9-4) Mid-division, weakened over 1f out, 9th of 12, 6 1/2l behind Star Of The East (9-7) at Chester 1m 5f hcp (3) gd in May.
Esprit De Somoza (FR) (10-12) 6th of 7, 11 3/4l behind Aurelio (10-10) at Compiegne 2m 2f gd in Sep.
Eragon De Chanay (FR) 5-2fav (11-7) Led and soon clear, steadied pace briefly after 2nd, went clear again 4 out, reduced lead after next, joined 2 out, ridden and headed before the last, no chance with winner, held on for 2nd, 2nd of 9, 3 3/4l behind Malaya (11-12) at Ascot 2m hcp (2) sft in Mar.
Gumball (FR) 2-5fav (11-5) Prominent, led 2nd, drew clear 3 out, mistake next, stayed on well, won at Ludlow 2m (4) gd in Apr beating Zalvados (11-4) by 6l, 8 ran.
Padleyourowncanoe 6-1 (11-10) Tracked leaders, challenged 4 out, led 3 out, headed last, still upsides flat, held towards finish, 2nd of 8, 1 1/4l behind Grand Sancy (11-3) at Chepstow 2m hcp (2) gd in Oct.
Pearl Of The West (IRE) 16-1 (10-11) Prominent, led 1st, slight mistake 6th, pushed along 3 out, soon joined, headed after 2 out and one pace, 4th of 6, 14 3/4l behind Quick Grabim (11-1) at Tipperary 2m (1) gd in Oct.
