held up in rear, not fluent 5th, headway after 4 out, blundered 2 out, no extra
tracked leader, left in lead 3 out, headed 2 out, no extra towards finish
tracked leaders, hit 9th, hampered 3 out, mistake 2 out, rallied flat, stayed on well to lead towards finish
held up in touch, not fluent 4 out, blundered and left 2nd 3 out, every chance when not fluent 2 out, stayed on flat, closing on 2nd close home
led, mistake 12th, narrow lead when fell 3 out
with leader until 1st, last trio before 3rd, not fluent 4th or 14th, rallied after 3 out, led next, driven flat, headed towards finish
in rear, jumped slowly 4th and 11th, hit 12th, lost touch 14th
Rebecca Curtis won this last year with The Romford Pele and her VINTAGE VINNIE never looked in any danger when jumping well and making all on his fencing bow at Worcester. The runner-up franked the form earlier this week and, if he handles these bigger fences, he could have a few of these in trouble at an early stage. Ballykan is possibly the danger as he won nicely at Uttoxeter last month before defying a big weight in a novices' handicap at Chepstow. Weather Babe took a long time to master Silver Man at Bangor and this is a much tougher assignment while A Good Skin faces a tough task after a break, though did win here in April. Vicente didn't beat much in his two wins in the spring but Shantou Flyer beat the useful Shadow Catcher at Sligo last month and has finally got his act together.
A Good Skin (IRE) 7-2fav (11-4) Held up behind, headway 15th, in touch 4 out, went 2nd after next, ridden to lead flat, kept on, won at Cheltenham 3m 1f hcp (3) gd in Apr beating Candide (10-3) by 2 3/4l, 10 ran.
Ballykan 10-3fav (11-12) Tracked leaders, 2nd 10th, led approaching 4 out, ridden before last, hung right flat, stayed on well, driven out, won at Chepstow 3m hcp (3) gd in Sep beating Derrintogher Bliss (11-8) by 2 1/4l, 10 ran.
Shantou Flyer (IRE) 9-10fav (11-9) Tracked leader in 2nd, disputed lead from 5th, led 2 out and soon ridden, joined again at last, regained lead run-in and stayed on well under pressure inside final furlong, won at Sligo 2m 5f Yielding in Sep beating Shadow Catcher (11-12) by 1/2l, 4 ran.
Vicente (FR) 2-9fav (11-5) Made all and jumped left throughout, hit 2 out, ridden before last, driven out, won at Wincanton 3m 1f (4) gf in May beating Chinatown Boy (10-12) by 3 1/4l, 4 ran.
Vintage Vinnie (IRE) 14-1 (11-6) Made all, 8 lengths clear at halfway, shaken up approaching last, ran on strongly, eased closing stages, won at Worcester 2m 7f (4) gd in Sep beating Upswing (11-6) by 29l, 10 ran.
Weather Babe 11-8fav (10-12) Mainly tracked leader, ridden 4 out, led last, stayed on, won at Bangor 3m (4) gd in Oct beating Silver Man (11-11) by 1 1/2l, 3 ran.
Pearl Swan (FR) 25-1 (11-4) Held up, not fluent 7th, disputing 4th 5 out, weakened 3 out, 6th of 7, 14 1/4l behind Cocktails At Dawn (11-12) at Chepstow 2m 3f (2) gd in Oct.
