tracked leader, led 11th until headed 2 out, soon ridden, not quicken flat
held up and behind, headway approaching 5 out, weakened 3 out, tailed off
held up, headway 8th, led 2 out, driven out flat (no official time)
led, jumping right, headed 11th, soon ridden, behind when pulled up before 2 out
Just the sextet stand their ground here but all six have claims and what can only be a tentative vote goes to Robyn Alexander, who is preferred to El Bandito and Asparagus. The last mentioned faces no easy task under the burden of top weight but has to be respected, provided that the forecast rain arrives. By comparison, at the other end of the weights Deliceo would not want any further rain and is probably best watched on his return. Martin Pipe's Jaybejay has ability but is becoming rather frustrating and is difficult to recommend on recent evidence, while Moving Earth gave little sign of encouragement on his recent return over hurdles. A bigger threat may come from Richard Lee's El Bandito, who has been raised 6lbs since his win at Worcester in May when last seen. The stable are quite capable of producing one after an absence so the 10-year-old has to be respected but narrow preference is for Robyn Alexander. Trainer Paul Nicholls has his string in good form now so the mare is unlikely to fail through lack of a recent run. The daughter of Sharifabad was progressive over hurdles last term before being switched to the larger obstacles. The six-year-old looked just as good over fences as over timber and as she remains unexposed could be potentially well treated. Robyn Alexander gets the vote in an interesting finale.
