led from 1st, mistake 4th and 9th, driven flat, held on gamely
always behind
chased leaders, mistake 1st, lost place 3rd, effort on outside after 4 out, soon weakened
chased leaders, not fluent 6th, ridden 10th, weakened before 4 out
led until 1st, chased winner until 3 out, weakened before last
mid-division, not fluent 1st, awkward 6th, headway 10th, beaten from 2 out
held up towards rear, pecked 1st, mistake 3rd, headway 4 out, 4th and beaten last
mid-division, headway 3rd, chased winner 3 out until last, not much room briefly flat, 3rd and no extra close home
held up towards rear, not fluent 8th, mistake 12th, headway 4 out, blundered and went 2nd last, stayed on, pressing winner towards finish, just held
NonRunner
Mellow Ben is only 2lb higher than when landing this 12 months ago and is preferred to stablemate Highway One O One but faces much stiffer opposition this time around. Dan Skelton is also double-handed with the potentially well-treated Cobra De Mai the stable pick according to jockey bookings. August’s Stratford winner Imperial Presence makes more appeal than the other recent winner Princeton Royale but we’ll take a chance on the returning ERICK LE ROUGE. Jane Williams’ charge was probably a bit out of his depth in a Grade 3 on his final start last season but had won a handicap in good style earlier and will be up with the pace here.
Imperial Presence (IRE) 5-1 (11-12) Led until after 9th, chased leader, in front again 2 out, went clear between last 2, stayed on strongly, won at Stratford 2m 5f hcp (2) gd in Aug beating Fidux (11-10) by 5 1/2l, 7 ran.
Romain De Senam (FR) 33-1 (11-1) Held up in rear, progress on inside 4 out, switched right and weakened before 2 out, 8th of 14, 27 1/4l behind Mister Malarky (11-0) at Kempton 3m hcp (1) gs in Feb.
Cobra De Mai (FR) 20-1 (10-9) Mid-division on inside, driven after 3 out, ridden after next, kept on same pace, never threatened leaders, 6th of 23, 8 1/2l behind The Conditional (10-6) at Cheltenham 3m 1f hcp (1) sft in Mar.
Erick Le Rouge (FR) 8-1 (11-0) Led until before 4th, chased leader until before 6th, chased leaders, weakened before 12th, no chance when badly hampered by faller next, plugged on, 4th of 7, 11 3/4l behind Who Dares Wins (11-0) at Kempton 2m 4f (1) gs in Feb.
Highway One O One (IRE) 50-1 (10-12) Prominent, pushed along before 3 out, soon lost place, weakened next, 16th of 23, 31 1/2l behind Simply The Betts (11-4) at Cheltenham 2m 5f hcp (1) sft in Mar.
Mellow Ben (IRE) 18-1 (11-12) Mid-division, headway 5th, lost place 4 out, not fluent 3 out, well beaten 2 out, 6th of 10, 29l behind Princeton Royale (11-7) at Stratford 2m 7f hcp (3) gd in Sep.
Azzerti (FR) 25-1 (10-2) Held up and behind, mistake 3rd, not fluent 8th, pushed along after 11th, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out, at Kempton 3m hcp (1) gs in Feb.
Drumcliff (IRE) 11-1 (10-13) Prominent, lost ground before 5f out, tailed off after 4 out, 7th of 8, dist behind Solomon Grey (10-11) at Uttoxeter 2m 4f hcp (2) gd in Aug.
Aintree My Dream (FR) 12-1 (11-5) Held up in rear, headway on outside after 4 out, left in 2nd 2 out, ridden and keeping on and 2 lengths down last, stayed on run-in, always held, 2nd of 8, 3/4l behind Mystical Clouds (11-5) at Kempton 2m 4f hcp (3) gs in Feb.
Princeton Royale (IRE) 20-1 (11-7) Led until 2nd, led before 6th, headed before 4 out, hit 3 out, led after 2 out, ridden out, won at Stratford 2m 7f hcp (3) gd in Sep beating Young Wolf (11-6) by 1l, 10 ran.
