held up in rear, headway 4th, chased leaders 3 out, led approaching last, quickened clear, readily
held up in rear, headway and not fluent 3rd, chased leaders 3 out, soon weakened
tracked leader, under pressure 2out, stayed on to take 2nd flat, no chance with winner
held up in rear, headway 4th, under pressure 3out, soon weakened
Official ratings have MILLE CHIEF only 2lbs in front of Ultimate but it will be disappointing if he's beaten although Soldatino could be the fly in the ointment. Alan King has made no secret of the regard in which he holds Mille Chief and he's been odds-on for all three starts for the yard. He produced his most impressive performance on his latest outing and there should be a great deal more to come from him as he was affected by the muscle enzyme problems that plagued the yard in the first half of the season. Therefore, despite the weights, it's difficult to see Ultimate getting the better of him as he was readily put in his place by another leading Triumph Hurdle fancy in Carlito Brigante. Soldatino represents a yard with plenty of strength in depth and it will be interesting to see if this Triumph entry attracts any support on his British debut. Toubab has a poor run at Taunton to put behind him and the remainder look out of their depth as Mille Chief is taken to cement his position at the head of the ante-post market.
Soldatino (FR) (10-5) won at Pau(FR) 2m 1f hdl in Jan beating Santo Conti (10-5) by 6l, 13 ran.
Ultimate 3-1 (11-5) Led, hard pressed 2 out, headed when blundered last, kept on, no chance with winner flat, 2nd of 7, 6l behind Carlito Brigante (11-8) at Musselburgh 2m 4yo nov hdl (2) gs.
Taste The Wine (IRE) 11-1 (10-12) Held up well in rear, mistake 4th, well behind 6th, still plenty to do after 2 out, stayed on well flat, went modest 2nd near finish, 2nd of 7, 19l behind Orzare (11-8) at Plumpton 2m 4yo nov hdl (3) gs.
Toubab (FR) 4-6fav (10-7) Held up towards rear, pulled hard, not much room briefly after 3 out, headway approaching 2 out, soon beaten, 5th of 12, 11l behind Hucking Hero (11-3) at Taunton 2m 1f nh nov hdl (4) gs.
Windpfeil (IRE) 50-1 (10-3) Tracked leader, challenged 4 out, weakened approaching 2 out, 6th of 8, 48l behind Johnny Mullen (10-9) at Wincanton 2m nh nov hdl (3) hvy.
Mille Chief (FR) 2-9fav (11-0) Held up mid-division, headway and in touch 4 out, challenged after next, led 2 out, stayed on well flat, won at Huntingdon 2m nh nov hdl (4) sft in Jan beating Great Reason (11-4) by 6l, 14 ran.
