rider lost irons at start, behind, some headway from 8th, left poor 3rd last
behind, went poor third at the 9th, blundered 13th, no chance when blundered and unseated rider last
led until blundered and unseated rider 2nd
behind, trailed off from 8, pulled up before 13th
jumped right throughout, left in lead 2nd, made rest, clear 4 out, eased flat
chased leaders in poor 3rd, until 9th, 4th when pulled up approaching 12th
chased winner approaching 3rd, ridden approaching 4 out, soon weakened
behind from 6th, tailed off
It is safe to say that none of the nine runners will ever live up to the achievements of the great Diamond Edge, whom the race is named after, but Stromness should be more than capable of winning this at the expense of Rift Valley and Even More. Stromness is a high-class recruit to fences, having been a very useful staying hurdler. He was to be aimed at the Stayers Hurdle after landing a decent event at Aintree last April, but his prep run at Kempton was discouraging so connections gave Cheltenham a swerve. After chasing home Deeno's Beano at Ascot he was put over fences for the first time at Worcester 12 days ago, and although beaten by Strong Flow, was a distance clear of the third. His jumping was a bit novicey but he will have learnt a lot from the experience and he should prove to strong for this lot, with Rift Valley and Even More the only ones to worry about.
