tracked rival pair, not fluent 5 out, chased winner before next, soon outpaced, lost 2nd after next, no danger after
made most, drew readily clear from 4 out, in no danger after, unextended
disputed lead to after 3rd, tracked winner, outpaced after 5 out, lost place when ridden before next, regained 2nd after 3 out, no chance with easy winner
Coup De Pinceau will likely make a better chaser than hurdler and has been lightly raced. But Brian Barr’s recent acquisition BABBLING STREAM won’t go down without a fight given he has chasing experience and was no slouch over hurdles himself when with Henry De Bromhead. Hoo Bally Diva has won her last two starts over hurdles but this looks a tricky start to her chase career.
Babbling Stream 2-1 (11-12) Close up and disputed lead, slight mistake 3rd, slightly slow 5th, pushed along between horses after 9th, headed from 5 out and ridden, soon no impression, one pace, 4th of 6, 11 1/4l behind Its All Guesswork (11-12) at Navan 2m 4f gf in Sep.
Coup De Pinceau (FR) 12-1 (11-0) Held up in touch, ridden after 2 out, stayed on same pace approaching last, 6th of 23, 11 3/4l behind Monbeg Theatre (10-4) at Cheltenham 3m hcp (2) gd in Apr.
Hoo Bally Diva (IRE) 9-2 (11-11) Held up behind leaders, pushed along after 4 out, pecked 3 out, soon outpaced, rallied 2 out, led flat, stayed on, won at Warwick 3m 1f hcp (4) gd in May beating Hollow Park (10-2) by 3/4l, 7 ran.
