in touch, headway 9th, hit 10th, ridden after 3 out, weakened next
led, ridden, headed after 3 out, stayed on same pace
raced wide, tracked leaders, challenged after 3 out, ridden after next, kept on same pace from last
tracked leaders, ridden after 3 out, stayed on same pace
in touch, ridden after 3 out, one pace from next
in touch, headway 8th, led after 3 out, stayed on well, ridden out
held up, headway when mistake 10th, ridden after 3 out, weakened next
with leader until after 9th, soon tailed off
held up, effort after 3 out, one pace from next
Withdrawn
A marathon trip here for the hurdlers and a good prize has ensured that we have a competitive race, which can be taken by BRENIN CWMTUDU, while The Dark Lord and Little Shilling should get heavily involved. The selection looks open to a fair bit more improvement over these stamina-sapping trips after a gutsy Chepstow success last month. Evan Williams has given him another nice six week break to get fully prepared for this and a 6lb rise may not be enough to stop him today, with conditions to suit. If this were at Fakenham then The Dark Lord may have been the pick. He seems to reserve his best for there and he does have conditions and trip to suit here, but a 7lb rise for his latest win, plus lumping top weight around in the mud, means that we are taking him on. Little Shilling is in tremendous form and has now gone up 43lbs for completing a nap hand of five successive wins. Trip and ground are ideal, but his winning run can't go on forever and a single rise of 25lb since his last hurdling victory, albeit easily, might finally find him out here. Cool Roxy has 11 career wins to his name, 10 of which have come at Fakenham, with the other one here over shorter. He is a genuine old stick but the ground might just be a bit soft for him to be at his best. Cullahill represents a yard in form but may just have a bit too much weight on his back at present and preference is for Brenin Cwmtudu.
The Dark Lord (IRE) 6-4fav (11-8) Tracked leaders, lost place 7th, slow 10th, headway 13th, soon prominent, ridden to challenge after 2 out, ran on to lead flat, all out, won at Fakenham 3m hcp chs 0-130 (3) sft beating Cool Roxy (11-9) by 2l, 6 ran.
Cool Roxy 6-1 (11-9) Led, under pressure 13th, soon headed, mistake 4 out, lost place next, headway approaching last, went 2nd flat, stayed on well, 2nd of 6, 2l behind The Dark Lord (11-8) at Fakenham 3m hcp chs 0-130 (3) sft.
Honour High 12-1 (11-9) Led after 1st, headed after 4th, every chance 3 out, weakened next, 4th of 7, 12l behind Maktu (10-9) at Chepstow 3m hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gs in Nov.
Cullahill (IRE) 16-1 (10-1) In touch, outpaced approaching 2 out, stayed on again approaching last, went 4th near finish, 4th of 16, 13l behind Fair Along (11-5) at Cheltenham 3m hcp hdl (2) gs.
Go Amwell 25-1 (10-10) Held up, hit 6th, ridden and behind from 4 out, 11th of 15, 30l behind Liberate (11-10) at Haydock 3m hcp hdl (2) gd in May.
Little Shilling (IRE) 5-4fav (10-5) Hampered, rider lost iron briefly 1st, held up, tracked leading pair 9th, went 2nd travelling well after 3 out, led before 2 out, soon clear, canter, won at Plumpton 3m 2f hcp chs 0-100 (4) sft beating Nagam (11-9) by 20l, 10 ran.
Brenin Cwmtudu 4-1 (10-2) Held up, headway 4 out, kept on to lead after last, gamely, won at Chepstow 3m hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gs in Nov beating Sullumo (11-12) by 1/2l, 10 ran.
Jockser (IRE) 20-1 (10-9) Always behind, tailed off from 6th, 12th of 13, well behind Jug Of Punch (10-0) at Cheltenham 3m hcp hdl 0-145 (2) gd in Apr.
Wildbach (IRE) 8-1 (10-8) Raced wide, in touch, headway to chase leaders 6th, weakened after next, 6th of 9, 8l behind Albany (10-10) at Plumpton 2m clm hdl (5) sft.
Tora Bora (GER) 28-1 (10-2) Led until 5th, prominent, ridden after 3 out, weakening when mistake next, 14th of 16, well behind Fair Along (11-5) at Cheltenham 3m hcp hdl (2) gs.
