tracked leader, led after 3rd, headed 7th, lost place last, kept on same pace flat, no impression
held up, outpaced 4 out, soon behind
tracked leaders, lost place when mistake 7th, soon weakened, pulled up 3 out
held up in rear, effort to chase leaders approaching 3 out, ridden and outpaced last, weakened flat
led to after 3rd, lost place 6th, soon behind, pulled up after 8th
held up in touch, headway 7th, went 2nd last, ridden to lead flat, soon clear
held up in touch, headway 7th, ridden and outpaced approaching last, soon weakened
held up in touch, went 2nd 5th, led 7th, ridden and headed flat, no extra
Once Before could be of interest on his rules debut having run well in point-to-points but INVISIBLE MAN sets a decent standard and looks the one to beat with Any Currency looking the main danger. The selection won once from four starts over hurdles in France but he has quickly been put over fences by Tom George and has shown a decent level of form in his two runs. A fair third behind Rippling Ring first time out at Newton Abbot last month, the four-year-old went one better when chasing home Robert The Brave at Market Rasen earlier this month and a reproduction of that form may well see him open his account over fences. Shanballa won his last two starts in Ireland over hurdles and now makes his start over fences for Tim Vaughan, who does well with other trainer's former runners, but he needs to improve to trouble the selection. Point-to-point winner Eastern Surprise disappointed over hurdles but it will be no surprise to see him improve for going over the larger obstacles now that Evan Williams has transferred him to fences. Any Currency earned a rating of 123 over hurdles and Martin Keighley's gelding has solid claims if able to translate that ability to fences but Invisible Man has already done that and he looks the one they all have to beat.
Any Currency (IRE) 40-1 (11-1) Soon chasing leader, ridden 3 out, weakened before next, 8th of 18, 16l behind Big Eared Fran (11-6) at Sandown 2m 4f Grade 3 nov hcp hdl (1) gd in Mar.
Liz's Dream 16-1 (10-8) Mid-division, headway 4 out, chased leader next, ridden and one pace approaching last, 4th of 14, 7l behind Alfabet Souk (10-1) at Newcastle 3m cnd hcp hdl 0-95 (5) gs in Jan '08.
Once Before (IRE) 5-4 (12-5) Prom til wknd 14, 3rd of 7, 23l behind Intense Suspense (12-5) at Easingwold 3m ptp gd in May.
Putitawayforayear (IRE) 33-1 (10-12) Behind from 3rd, struggling from 4th, tailed off from 7th, 6th of 7, well behind Dishdasha (11-4) at Perth 2m nov stks (4) gf in Jul.
Sawyer's Gold 200-1 (10-7) Held up, hit 5th, soon weakened, tailed off, last of 9, well behind Nordwind (11-12) at Wetherby 2m cond nov hdl 4yo+ (4) gf in May.
Shanballa (IRE) 14-1 (10-4) Rear of mid-division, headway from 4 out, 2nd 2 out, ridden to lead before last, kept on well, won at Killarney 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-116 gs in May beating Steve Silvermint (11-4) by 2l, 18 ran.
Eastern Surprise (IRE) 6-1 (10-5) Held up mid-division, chased leaders 5th, weakened approaching last, 5th of 13, 21l behind Dead Or Alive (10-12) at Market Rasen 2m 6f nh nov hdl (4) gs.
Invisible Man (FR) 5-2fav (10-0) Tracked leaders, went 2nd 8th, led narrowly 3 out, headed 2 out, stayed on same place flat, no impression, 2nd of 11, 2 1/4l behind Robert The Brave (11-1) at Market Rasen 2m 4f noc chs (4) gd.
