in rear, not fluent 2nd and 4th, edged left when making headway before 2 out, ridden along after 2 out, kept on well towards finish
towards rear, some headway up the inner before 2 out, weakened after 2 out
tracked leader, headway to make challenge before 2 out, 2nd and landed awkwardly 2 out, never nearer when ridden run-in
close up and chased leader, niggled along and outpaced before 2 out, hard-ridden and weakened quickly after 2 out, faded closing stages
tracked leader, not fluent 5th, pushed along before 2 out, one-paced when ridden after 2 out, weakened after last
towards rear, not fluent 5th, scrubbed along and struggling before 2 out, never nearer
towards rear, not fluent 5th and dropped to last, tailed off and pulled up before 2 out
made all, led, 2-length lead when pushed along at the last maintained advantage when ridden run-in, game
Philip Hobbs trains the top two in the weights with Melekhov preferred to Espion. Espalion arrives on a hat-trick but has a lot to prove on ground this soft. Once-smart chaser Top Gamble isn’t getting any younger but is well treated nowadays and Twenty Twenty ended the last season with a victory at Fontwell. With the Pipe team clicking into gear, FIRST LORD DE CUET is fancied to build on a third at Fontwell as he should do better over longer trips this term.
Espion (FR) 7-2fav (11-3) Tracked leaders, bad mistake 8th, ridden along and struggling before 3 out where awkward, soon weakened, 10th of 13, 33 3/4l behind Captain Drake (11-12) at Uttoxeter 2m 7f hcp (2) gs in Oct.
Melekhov (IRE) 5-1 (11-6) Held up, headway after 3 out, chased leaders next, no extra approachinglast, 5th of 8, 20l behind Lord Of The Island (11-9) at Sandown 2m 4f hcp (3) hvy in Nov.
First Lord De Cuet (FR) 11-2 (11-9) Not always fluent, led 2nd, headed after next, led 5th, headed 4 out, no impression on winner and veered left last, soon lost 2nd, hanging left flat, 3rd of 10, 15 3/4l behind Vorashann (10-13) at Fontwell 2m 2f hcp (3) sft in Oct.
Top Gamble (IRE) 14-1 (11-12) Chased leaders, led after 1st, driven when pressed 3 out, headed next, rallied and every chance after last, kept on well, 2nd of 10, nk behind Daytime Ahead (10-11) at Exeter 2m 1f hcp (4) sft in Mar.
Espalion (FR) 9-2 (11-12) Prominent, shuffled back into midfield 3rd, headway to chase leaders 4 out, ridden after 3 out, close up after 2 out, jumped into lead last, driven out, won at Exeter 2m 3f hcp (4) gf in Oct beating Level Of Intensity (11-1) by 1 1/4l, 12 ran.
Twenty Twenty (IRE) 2-1jfav (11-9) Tracked front pair, driven after 3 out, went 2nd before next, led between last 2, ridden out flat, kept on, won at Fontwell 2m 3f hcp (4) hvy in Mar beating Flagrant Delitiep (11-8) by 3 1/2l, 6 ran.
Iconic Sky 11-1 (11-11) Chased leaders on inside, lost place 7th, towards rear and no chance after, tailed off and pulled up before last, at Fakenham 2m 4f hcp (4) gd in Oct.
Gortroe Joe (IRE) 10-3fav (11-12) Mid-division on inside, raced keenly, some headway 3 out, soon shaken up and weakened, 16th of 17, dist behind Bannixtown Glory (11-11) at Carlisle 2m 4f hcp (4) gd in Oct.
