towards rear, headway 4th, ridden to chase winner after 6th to last, weakened flat
hit 6th always behind
led to approaching 2nd, led again 4th, clear when hit 2 out, all out
in touch, lost place 2nd, kept on flat, never dangerous
held up, fell 2nd
mid-division, lost place 5th, soon behind
always towards rear
mid-division, headway 5th, outpaced after next, stayed on flat
chased leaders, ridden after 6th, weakened 2 out
held up, ridden 6th, stayed on from 2 out, never reach leaders
mid-division, headway 4th, ridden after 6th, went 2nd last, stayed on
prominent, led approaching 2nd to 4th, hit 5th, weakened next
chased leaders, ridden 6th, soon weakened
in touch to 5th, soon behind
Absolutelythebest, just denied last time, is taken to make amends at the expense of Nounou, Barney and Canadian Storm. Absolutelythebest has run well on each of his last two outings, most recently at Worcester where he noticeably hung to the right throughout, and indeed jumped markedly in that direction over the final three flights, costing him the race. Therefore the switch back to going clockwise should ensure that he make a bold bid to put things right under Tony McCoy. Nounou opened his account like a good thing at Cartmel last time, but faces a stiffer challenge here under joint topweight, while Barney is another with a more to do, but the Sedgefield winner at least has a light weight in comparison to his main rivals. Canadian Storm was beaten in a claimer on his latest start, and Finnegans Rainbow was well held when third over the course-and-distance last month, and it remains to be seen whether he has recovered from a spin on the level three days ago. All in all, conditions favour Absolutelythebest who should take the beating on this more suitable track.
Nounou 11-4fav (10-7) Held up, headway approaching 3 out, led approaching last, soon clear, won at Cartmel 2m 1f mdn hdl (4) gs in May beating Topwell (11-0) by 9l, 10 ran.
Canadian Storm 9-2 (11-10) Held up, keen in rear, headway approaching 3 out, ridden 2 out, kept on, never troubled leaders, 3rd of 14, 9l behind Classic Croco (11-1) at Worcester 2m nov clm hdl (5) gf in Jun.
Absolutelythebest (IRE) 2-1 (11-0) Jumped right, led, ridden and hung and jumped badly right from 3 out, headed after last, kept on, 2nd of 11, nk behind Iffy (11-0) at Worcester 2m nov hdl (4) gd in Jun.
Finnegans Rainbow 33-1 (10-8) Mid-division, chased leaders 3 out, kept on from next, no impression, 3rd of 11, 11l behind Wiggy Smith (11-0) at Market Rasen 2m 1f nov hdl (4) gf in Jun.
Compton Dragon (USA) 11-2 (10-7) In touch, headway to challenge 2 out, ridden and chance when hit last, no extra flat, 2nd of 11, 4l behind I'm Your Man (10-11) at Perth 2m nov hcp hdl 0-105 (4) gf in Jun.
Barney (IRE) 9-2 (9-9) Chased leaders, led approaching 3 out, stayed on strongly from next, won at Sedgefield 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-110 (4) gf in Jun beating Prince Among Men (11-12) by 6l, 8 ran.
Rust En Vrede 8-1 (10-8) Mid-division, outpaced 3 out, stayed on from last, 4th of 15, 6l behind In No Hurry (10-11) at Market Rasen 2m 1f nov hcp hdl 0-100 (4) gf in Jun.
Upswing 11-1 (11-5) Always behind, 8th of 15, 40l behind Corrib Drift (11-4) at Worcester 2m nov hcp chs 0-95 (5) gf.
