prominent, not fluent 3rd, outpaced 3 out, ridden and mistake next, kept on
chased clear leader, led and mistake 3 out, soon headed, ridden approaching next, no impression
held up, pushed along 7th, outpaced next, kept on from 2 out
in touch, went 2nd at 6th, led after 3 out, driven out, just held on
held up in rear, tailed off 4th, pulled up before next
held up, ridden after 3 out, no impression from next
led, soon clear, headed approaching 3 out, quickly weakened, tailed of when pulled up before 2 out
held up, headway 6th, not fluent last, stayed on towards finish, just held
HEIR TO BE is in great heart of late and gets the nod here; Stumped and Stoop To Conquer also make the shortlist. The first mentioned has been in good form this spring, winning four of his last five starts. His victory showed he can handle fast ground and the ten-year-old remains capable of further success at this level, especially whilst clearly in such good form. Stumped has finished third at the last two attempts. The gelding hasn't won for almost 18 months and we don't expect that to change today especially up against the in-form selection. He returns from a short spell away from the track today and should have trained on so a finish among the minors is to be expected. Stoop To Conquer ran well on his first outing over hurdles since 2007 just two starts ago, he failed to follow up on that promise last time out but he is nicely handicapped as a hurdler, and has been crying out for a stiffer test. Jonjo O'Neill's Malakiya was a little disappointing when returning to action last time out but should have come on for the run and it's the same story for Masafi, both should do better here but may struggle to make the frame.
Heir To Be 10-11fav (11-1) Tracked leader, led 3 out, clear before next easily, won at Fontwell 2m 4f clm hdl (5) gd in May beating Perlon (10-2) by 17l, 8 ran.
Black Mogul 8-1 (11-11) Mid-division, reminders 6th, tailed off 2 out, 8th of 11, well behind Solway Sunset (11-12) at Cartmel 3m 2f hcp hdl 0-110 (4) gd in May.
Malakiya (IRE) 6-1 (11-9) Mid-division, not always fluent, reminders after 8th, mistake 10th, lost touch from next, 10th of 13, 41l behind Gleann An Sagart (11-7) at Stratford 2m 5f nov hcp chs 0-115 (4) gd in May.
Muntami (IRE) 33-1 (11-8) Held up, brief effort from 7th, weakened after 3 out, 8th of 11, 24l behind Bennynthejets (11-2) at Market Rasen 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-100 (4) gd in May.
Paradigm Investor (IRE) 40-1 (11-6) Always behind, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out, in a race won by Noticeable (11-12) at Doncaster 2m clm hdl (5) gd in Feb, 8 ran.
Stumped 9-2 (10-12) Tracked leaders, ridden approaching 2 out, one pace from last, 3rd of 6, 25l behind Auroras Encore (11-1) at Carlisle 2m nov stks (3) gs in Mar.
Masafi (IRE) 9-2 (10-12) Chased leader, lost place 6th, weakened 3 out, tailed off, 9th of 12, well behind Le Brocquy (10-9) at Sedgefield 2m 1f sell hdl (5) gf.
Don't Be Bleu (IRE) 9-1 (11-10) Chased leaders, blundered 7th and 11th, soon behind, tailed off when pulled up before 2 out, bled from both nostrils, in a race won by Shake The Barley (11-12) at Fontwell 2m 6f hcp chs 0-115 (4) gf in May, 8 ran.
Stoop To Conquer 8-1 (10-13) In touch, led 2nd, headed 3rd, led again 4th, headed 4 out and weakened, 8th of 9, 18l behind Bazart (10-2) at Chepstow 2m hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gd in Apr.
