jumped left throughout, led, slow jump 3rd, ridden after 8th, headed after 3 out, soon no chance with winner
chased leader, struggling 8th, weakened after 3 out
tracked leader, hit 7th, led after 3 out, soon clear, very easily
Nonrunner
Gaelic Present should win; Swift Half looks the one to chase him home. With only three runners likely to line-up at best, this could turn into a bit of a non-event. However, Gaelic Present, a nicely-bred son of Presenting out of a Swift Gale mare looks sure to be hard to beat. Whilst he hasn't been foot-perfect at his flights in his two starts to date but he pulled well clear of the remainder when second to a well-regard stablemate at Plumpton and with further improvement to come he looks hard to beat. Swift Half is a danger; he was in consistent form earlier in the year and whilst he is yet to win over obstacles having won a bumper in April of 2006, he cannot be overlooked with experience on his side. Rock Star Appeal makes absolutely no appeal given his two runs to date and whilst he may improve for his latest run, there is no doubt that he is up against it here. Gaelic Present then, is the one who gets the nod.
Gaelic Present (IRE) 12-1 (10-12) Made most, hit 8th, under pressure approaching 3 out, headed well before 2 out, no chance with winner, 2nd of 5, 10l behind Ocean du Moulin (10-12) at Plumpton 2m 5f nh nov hdl (4) gd.
Rock Star Appeal 66-1 (11-0) Soon tracking leaders, weakened 7th and pulled up 4 out in race won by Nakai (11-0) at Chepstow 3m mdn hdl (5) gs in Oct, 16 ran.
Swift Half (IRE) 7-2 (11-0) Held up in toch, ridden and some progress 3 out, jumped right 2 out, one pace, 3rd of 10, 8l behind Ashwell (11-6) at Towcester 2m 3f nov hdl (4) gd in Jun.
Just Smokie 18-1 (11-11) Chased leaders, ridden 3 out, kept on, 15th of 16, 48l behind Snow's Ride (11-7) at Kelso 2m 6f cnd hcp hdl 0-100 (4) gd in Oct. Later dsq to last.
