held up in rear, headway approaching 6th, driven in 4th before 2 out, mistake last, kept on to 3rd flat,
chased leaders, headway to lead after 4th, headed 6th, chased leader until weakened 3 out
chased leaders, led 2 out, clear before last, kept on well
unseated rider 1st
led, narrowly headed after 4th, chased leader, led again 6th, headed 2 out, chased winner, soon driven, lost 2nd last, weakened to 4th flat
in rear, mistake 6th, never on terms after
always in last trio, struggling, 6th, tailed off
prominent, went 2nd briefly after 3 out, rallied to 2nd again last, kept on flat, readily held
raced wide, in touch, driven and outpaced before 5th, never on terms after
There are three previous C&D winners facing the starter here but none of that trio has shown a great deal recently. Zelos Diktator hasn't raced over hurdles since March but was second over 1m3f on the Polytrack earlier this month and is worth considering on that piece of form alone. River Rhapsody went close on a couple of occasions last season and can pick up a modest contest somewhere but we'll take a chance here on MURPHY. A nine-year-old maiden returning from a long lay-off wouldn't normally catch the eye but Nick Gifford has shown a lot of patience with his charge who was thought good enough to contest the Punchestown Bumper in his younger days and was last seen at a much higher level over timber.
Musashi (IRE) 33-1 (11-0) Chased leaders on outside, led 4th, jumped right next, headed approaching 3 out, soon weakened, 11th of 16, 49l behind Clu Agus Cail (10-11) at Stratford 2m hcp hdl 0-100 (4) gf in Aug.
Just Beware 9-2 (11-7) Chased leading trio, went 3rd 4th, mistake next, weakened before 6th, tailed off, last of 7, well behind Domino Dancer (11-5) at Plumpton 2m hcp hdl 0-95 (5) gf in May.
Zelos Diktator 5-1 (11-4) Tracked leaders, ridden 3 out, kept on one pace, 4th of 7, 28l behind Watergate (11-4) at Folkestone 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-100 (4) gd in Mar.
Murphy (IRE) 10-1 (11-0) Towards rear, not fluent 2nd, mistake 4th, behind next, fell 6th, in a race won by Moulin De La Croix (10-8) at Leicester 2m hcp ch 0-110 (4) gd in Feb '10, 10 ran.
Pobs Trophy 9-1 (10-5) Always behind, 6th of 8, 37l behind King Mak (11-5) at Bangor 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-110 (4) gd in Aug.
Django Reinhardt 12-1 (11-3) Held up in rear, took keen hold, not fluent 3 out, disputing modest 5th soon after, weakened well before 2 out where mistake, 6th of 8, well behind Tamarillo Grove (11-12) at Newton Abbot 2m 1f nov hcp hdl 0-90 (5) gf.
What's For Tea 28-1 (11-1) In touch, ridden after 6th, went modest 3rd and mistake 2 out, 3rd of 13, 16l behind Papradon (10-6) at Fontwell 2m 2f hcp hdl 0-90 (5) gd in Jun '10.
River Rhapsody (IRE) 3-1fav (11-6) Tracked leaders, not fluent 4th or 7th, 4th when stumbled 2 out, soon beaten, 6th of 9, 32l behind Lightening Fire (10-7) at Chepstow 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-90 (5) gd in Mar.
Always De One 20-1 (10-5) Tracked leaders, weakened before 3 out, blundered next, last of 12, well behind Provost (11-9) at Sedgefield 2m 1f Am nov hcp hdl (5) gf in May.
