led, not fluent at 1st, ridden and headed entering straight, dropped to moderate last before last, rallied to regain moderate 3rd inside final furlong
tracked leaders in 3rd, slight mistake 4th, not fluent 2 out and ridden, 3rd on inner entering straight, no impression on leaders
tracked leader in 2nd, improved to lead entering straight, went clear travelling well before last, pushed along and stayed on strongly run-in, easily
held up in touch in last, took keen hold, headway on outer into 2nd entering straight, ridden before last, no impression on winner run-in, kept on without threatening winner
Willie Mullins has won all but one of the last dozen of these - the sequence halted by Abacadabra in 2020. That winner‘s yard run two with Pied Piper, who ran a superb race when narrowly beaten in the Cesarewitch at Newmarket, more likely to halt the Mullins dominance than Fils D‘oudairies. However, he was beaten three times behind STATE MAN last season with the latter winning four Grade 1s including this race and finishing second behind Constitution Hill at Cheltenham. His stablemate Echoes In Rain won the Grade 1 Mares‘ Champion Hurdle here in April and has been running well in strong company on the Flat.
Fils D'oudairies (FR) 9-2 (11-8) Made all, went clear before 6th, left further clear after 6th, slight mistake 4 out, pushed along before last, kept on well, unchallenged, won at Tipperary 2m (1) sft in Oct beating Deo Bellator (10-8) by dist, 3 ran.
Pied Piper 13-2 (9-3) Held up well off the pace towards rear, good headway out wide tracking leaders 2f out, stayed on inside final furlong, went 2nd towards finish, not reach winner, 2nd of 31, 3/4l behind The Shunter (9-1) at Newmarket 2m 2f hcp (2) sft in Oct.
State Man (FR) 2-5fav (11-12) Made all, not fluent 2nd, travelled well and 2 lengths clear early straight, slight mistake last, pushed out and kept on well run-in, won at Punchestown 2m (1) Yielding in Apr beating Vauban (11-12) by 3l, 6 ran.
Echoes In Rain (FR) 2-1fav (9-6) Held in rear early, ran freely, 5th halfway, closer in 4th 2f out, ridden over 2f out, stayed on into 2nd 1f out, no impression on leader, kept on same pace final furlong, 2nd of 7, 6 1/2l behind Falcon Eight (9-9) at Curragh 2m Grp 3 stks (1) hvy in Nov.
