chased clear leader, led approching 4 out, not fluent 3 out, ridden 2 out, driven out flat
held up in rear, headway after 7th, ridden 3 out, 4th and beaten when fell 2 out.
held up towards rear, headway 7th, every chance 4 out, switched left 2 out, ridden approaching last, ran on flat
chased leaders until ridden and weakened 3 out,
led, soon clear, not fluent 7th, headed approaching 4 out, weakened quickly
always towards rear, tailed off.
held up mid-division, stayed on from 2 out, nearest finish
held up, not fluent 5th, headway 7th, weakend before 2 out.
prominent and keen, weakened 4 out
behind from 5th, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out.
held up, headway 7th, 6the when blundered and unseated rider 4 out.
Nonrunner
The trainers championship battle rumbles on here, with both Paul Nicholls and Martin Pipe saddling runners, and Nicholls can take the prize with topweight Kadam, while Pipe's Gold For Me will be fighting for silver or bronze along with Master D'Or and Running Times. Kadam is due for a 3lb rise after this, and provided he handles the cut in the ground he looks good enough. His handicap win at Newton Abbot last month looks solid in this contest and he put up another good performance last time in defeat on ground that looked too quick at Taunton. Master D'Or was a very easy winner the other day at Plumpton, making a complete mockery of the handicap, but the opposition was not strong and that was on good ground. Thus far he has not acted on cut, and while it may seem like folly to oppose we will do so. Gold For Me drops back in trip from last time, but has not shown us enough yet to believe he can win this, though Martin Pipe-trained runners, as we know, can improve at any time. Meanwhile Running Times was a soft ground course and distance winner three years ago, and although he has won only once since, he still performs with credit off much lower marks, so don't rule him out completely. But for the winner we will take Kadam to score for Paul Nicholls.
Kadam (IRE) 7-2 Prominent, headway approaching 7th, led 3 out, soon ridden, headed 2 out, not pace of winner, 2nd of 8, 7l behind Alikat at Taunton 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-115 (D) gf.
Gold For Me (FR) 9-2 Held up, headway 8th, every chance when hung right on bend approaching 3 out, weakened approaching 2 out, 6th of 17, 19l behind Jordans Lad at Worcester 3m hcp hdl 0-100 (F) gf.
Master d'Or (FR) 7-2fav Held up in rear, smooth headway to track leaders from 9th, led on bit 3 out, drew clear, unchallenged, won at Plumpton 2m 5f cnd hcp hdl 0-105 (E) gd beating Eau Pure by 22l, 14 ran.
Running Times (USA) 10-1 Mid-division, kept on from 3 out through beaten horses, 3rd of 13, 12l behind Timidjar at Taunton 3m cnd hcp hdl 0-95 (G) gf.
Smokestack (IRE) 100-1 Mistake 1st, always behind, 9th of 12, well behind Mythical King at Chepstow 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-125 (D) sft in Feb.
Wayward Melody 8-1 Held up, pushed along 3rd, behind from 5th, 8th of 10, 24l behind Tiger Talk at Fakenham 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-105 (E) gd in Mar.
Parish Oak 9-2 Tracked leaders, headway 4 out, led 2 out, blundered last, ridden, ran on flat, won at Sedgefield 2m 5f hcp chs 0-110 (E) sft in Mar beating Flake by 7l, 6 ran.
Physical Graffiti (USA) 5-2fav Held up, never near leaders, 8th of 15, 15l behind Rose Of York at Towcester 2m sll hcp hdl 0-95 (G) gs.
