prominent, led 5f out, pushed clear 3f out, drifted right final furlong, kept on well
led until 5f out, gradually faded
in touch, took closer order 7f out, ridden to chase winner 3f out, kept on, always held
tracked leaders, ridden to chase winner 5f out until 3f out, gradually faded
behind, headway 7f out, ridden into 3rd 3f out, kept on same pace
always behind, tailed off when hung badly right, crashed through rails and unseated rider over 3f out
towards rear, brief effort 5f out, soon beaten
towards rear, headway 7f out, challenged for 3rd over 3f out, one pace final 2f
Watch the betting is always the advice in these bumpers but without being privy to that information we will side with Blackthorn Boy ahead of Taipan's Promise. Essentially this looks a pretty weak contest and connections of Blackthorn Boy will be disappointed if he doesn't make it third time lucky. Gary Moore has his stable in fair form at the moment and if repeating his last run when a six-length third to the impressive Aux Le Bahnn, his five-year-old could be hard to beat. Cherington and Double Centeneray are both entitled to improve on their debuts when both ran with a degree of promise so cannot be ruled out of calculations, whilst The Wicked Witch is the most interesting out of the newcomers and should be monitored closely in the betting for signs of support. Taipan's Promise has shaped with some promise on his three runs to date but doesn't appear to be one of the stable stars, and so we will return to Blackthorn Boy to land the spoils.
