held up, headway to chase winner 5th, led on bit 2 out, soon clear easily
led, ridden and headed 2 out, soon beaten
chased leader 3rd to 5th, weakened next
chased leader to 3rd, behind from 5th
chased leaders to 6th, soon well behind
Venn Ottery disappointed his supporters on Sunday but should be capable of bouncing back here at the main expense of The Alleycat and Kind Sir. The selection did not get the strong pace that he relishes when second behind Transit last time, but he is dropped in trip here and might be capable of quickly bouncing back. He has exceeded all expectations this season and was being put forward as a possible Cheltenham runner before his recent setback, and although he is up in the weights again he should be capable of scoring. The Alleycat is an obvious danger as he is 27lbs better off for a 72 length defeat by Venn Ottery on his latest outing, but despite the pull in the weights he will need to improve significantly to get closer to our selection. Kind Sir was a good second behind Sharpastrizam last time out but his frontrunning tactics could well help Venn Ottery who will be suited by a decent gallop. Imaginaire is from the in-form Venetia Williams yard so is another that can't be discounted, but for the winner we return to Venn Ottery.
