held up, mistake 2nd, hit 3rd, fell 7th
mid-division, 6th when fell 8th
held up, headway 8th, mistake 9th, led last, ridden out
always towards rear
led, headed after 8th, ridden and edged left after next, weakening when blundered and nearly unseated rider 2 out, tailed off when pulled up before last
tracked leaders, led after 8th, ridden and headed last, no extra
held up and keen, headway 3rd, not much room on inside after 9th, ridden 3 out, slightly outpaced after next, stayed on towards finish
prominent, jumped big 1st, ridden approaching 3 out, soon weakened
not jump well, lost place and reminders 2nd, behind from 5th
With Jonjo O'Neill's Multeen River likely to be better for the outing this may be best left to Lord Strickland who is preferred to Fireball Macnamara. The last mentioned has gone up 9lbs since his latest success when an easy six-length winner over Heracles at Newton Abbot. That was over 2m1f and there is a suspicion that Mark Pitman's gelding does not effectively stay this trip. There are no doubts on that score with Lord Strickland though. The Philip Hobbs-trained gelding has been given a break since his most recent start when successful at Newton Abbot over 2m6f and a 7lb rise for that seems perfectly fair. Regular pilot Anthony Honeyball gets on well with the 11-year-old, who looks the best bet. Kim Bailey has had a quiet start to the season so Moreluck may be best watched and of more interest may be Alan King's Half An Hour, although a disappointing effort last time will need to be ignored. Richard Guest's Gatorade looks the pick of the remainder in a race that is taken to go to Lord Strickland.
