chased winner, not fluent 7th or 4 out, ridden before 3 out, soon well held
chased leaders, weakened before 8th, tailed off
made all, clear 3 out, canter
not always fluent in last, behind 5th, tailed off 7th, pulled up before 8th
Barfly and Earcomesali need to show massive improvement to take a hand here. Borice is an intriguing contender for high-powered owner and trainer connections and had some useful form in France before joining Gordon Elliott for whom he's shown little in two starts. It is obviously impossible to write him off but FORTIFIED BAY did really well to score over course and distance after a two-year absence on first start for the Candlish team and is taken to defy his penalty. The Mafki gelding also displayed useful novice hurdle form when in the care of Alan King.
Fortified Bay (IRE) 8-1 (11-0) Raced keenly, made all, hit 3 out, soon ridden, kept on gamely run-in, unchallenged, won at Uttoxeter 2m 7f mdn (5) gd in May beating Cool Destination (11-0) by 1 1/4l, 6 ran.
Barfly 18-1 (10-12) Led, headed narrowly after 6th, lost place after 3 out, behind from next, tailed off, 6th of 7, dist behind Glinger Flame (11-10) at Hexham 2m 4f (4) gd in May.
Borice (FR) 10-1 (10-5) Towards rear, never a factor, slight mistake 6th, some headway 3 out, no impression after next, no extra, 9th of 18, 32 1/2l behind Invitation Only (11-6) at Gowran Park 3m 1f hcp sft in Jan.
Earcomesali 100-1 (10-7) In rear, outpaced halfway, behind when pulled up last, at Stratford 2m 6f (4) gd in Apr.
