held up in touch, ridden and outpaced after 3 out, left 2nd last
held up in rear, headway into midfield 4 out, kept on one pace from 3 out
held up towards rear, ridden and outpaced before 4 out, badly hampered by faller and brought down after last
led, not fluent 5 out, ridden and headed narrowly before 2 out, fell last
midfield, crept closer approaching 5 out, bad mistake 4 out, not recover
midfield, dropped towards rear 11th, recovered into midfield approaching 5 out, ridden and outpaced 4 out, left 3rd last, plugged on
ridden handy, awkward 9th, almost upsides 5 out, led before 3 out, ridden clear before 2 out, left well clear last, driven out
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Casablanca Mix goes well fresh and has a very good strike-rate. Another mare, The Bay Birch, won this last year when 8lb higher in the ratings so has obvious claims after a pipe-opener at Warwick. Garde La Victoire is reunited with Richard Johnson, who has ridden him in 11 of his 12 career victories to date, but Mont Des Avaloirs has failed to build on early promise and is on a long losing run. SPIRITOFTHEGAMES (NAP) was unlucky not to win on a couple of occasions at Cheltenham last season. He also ran well at The Festival in March and, back at the scene of his only previous win over fences, Dan Skelton’s charge can come home in front today as he is the stable pick ahead of Marracudja and Azzuri. Doitforthevillage was a course and distance winner off this mark at the end of 2018 but is in the veteran stage now.
Casablanca Mix (FR) 5-2 (11-2) Tracked leader until 5th, tracked leading pair, hit next, pushed along before 10th, lost 3rd 5 out, pushed along and weakened before next, left remote 4th 3 out, 4th of 7, 29 1/4l behind Lady Buttons (11-2) at Doncaster 2m 5f lst (1) gs in Dec.
Marracudja (FR) 50-1 (11-11) Prominent, led 10th, hit 3 out, headed next, slow and beaten last, weakened flat, 13th of 18, 14 3/4l behind Chosen Mate (11-4) at Cheltenham 2m hcp (1) gs in Mar.
River Wylde (IRE) 10-1 (11-10) Chased leaders, weakened 11th, tailed off, 6th of 13, 26 1/4l behind Born Survivor (11-2) at Ayr 2m 4f hcp lst (1) gd in Apr.
Mont Des Avaloirs (FR) 7-2 (11-8) Held up last, headway into 3rd at 7th, close 2nd 10th, stumbled badly 13th, led next, ridden and headed before the last, no extra run-in, 2nd of 6, 11l behind Sussex Ranger (10-6) at Newbury 2m 7f hcp (3) gd in Feb.
Azzuri 10-3 (11-11) Led, driven into 3 out, joined by the evenutal winner 2 out, hung right towards the eventual winner on the nearside approaching the last, headed at the last and no extra run in, 3rd of 7, 3 1/4l behind Solar Impulse (10-9) at Southwell 2m hcp (3) gd in Aug.
The Bay Birch (IRE) 9-1 (11-12) Midfield, took closer order to lead after 13th, headed after 2 out, soon ridden, kept on one pace flat, 3rd of 10, 9 1/4l behind Templepark (11-3) at Warwick 2m 4f hcp (3) gd in Sep.
Pink Eyed Pedro 33-1 (11-12) Mid-division, lost place before 3 out, stayed on flat, never nearer, 6th of 15, 5 1/4l behind Dead Right (11-9) at Market Rasen 2m 5f hcp (3) gd in Sep.
Crievehill (IRE) 25-1 (11-7) Prominent, lost place 8th, behind from 4 out, 9th of 14, dist behind Mister Malarky (11-0) at Kempton 3m hcp (1) gs in Feb.
Spiritofthegames (IRE) 16-1 (11-4) Behind, headway under pressure 3 out, ridden and kept on after last, never reached leaders, 6th of 23, 5 1/2l behind Simply The Betts (11-4) at Cheltenham 2m 5f hcp (1) sft in Mar.
Garde La Victoire (FR) 14-1 (11-12) Tracked leaders, ridden before last, kept and no impression, 3rd of 20, 4 1/4l behind Delire D'Estruval (11-11) at Kempton 2m 4f hcp (2) gs in Mar.
The Unit (IRE) 7-4fav (11-8) Close up in rear, tracked leaders when hit 4 out, went 2nd after next, blundered 2 out, soon ridden, 11/2 lengths down last, not quicken and well held flat, 2nd of 4, 5l behind Amour de Nuit (11-4) at Doncaster 2m 3f hcp (3) gd in Dec.
Punches Cross (IRE) 33-1 (10-4) Always towards rear, never a factor, 17th of 24, dist behind Glamorgan Duke (9-11) at Leopardstown 2m 5f hcp Yielding in Feb.
Doitforthevillage (IRE) 9-1 (10-8) Behind, headway to chase leaders 3 out, no extra approaching last, 6th of 13, 10 1/4l behind Midnight Midge (10-10) at Wincanton 2m 4f hcp (3) gs in Nov.
