led after 1st, not fluent 6th, headed approaching 8th, led before 3 out, mistake 2 out, stayed on gamely
mid-division, lost ground approaching 8th, went 5th and closing when hit 3 out, soon no impression on leaders, went 3rd last
chased leaders, pushed along after 6th, dropped rear approaching 8th, soon behind
not fluent towards rear, headway 8th, mistake next, soon ridden and lost place, pulled up before 3 out
mid-division, not fluent 5th, headway when not fluent 8th, went 3rd 3 out, mistake and weakened next
chased leaders, progess to close on winner approaching 3 out, switched right after 2 out, stayed on flat, always behind held
always behind
led until after 1st, pressed leader until led again before 8th, ridden and headed when hit 3 out, soon weakened
FAIR ALONG has to shoulder more weight this year but Phillip Hobbs decision to miss the Cesarewitch could have been a wise one and we take him to follow up last year's success. Tidal Bay runs here in preference to the Charlie Hall. He has the class to win this though seems to have become increasingly more moody as time has gone on. Blazing Bailey has been a perennial underachiever during his career but he is in receipt of 8lbs from the market principals today. Kayf Aramis has had a couple of outings on the flat and it will be interesting to see if they front run this afternoon. Duc De Regniere has been well placed by connections and has gone well in the past when fresh. Majestic Mayhem has ran in Irish points though this is a big leap in grade.
Fair Along (GER) 50-1 (11-10) Tracked leader, lost place 3 out, soon outpaced, weakened next, 10th of 14, 38l behind Big Buck's (11-10) at Cheltenham 3m hdl G1 (1) gs in Mar.
Tidal Bay (IRE) 15-2 (11-7) Held up in rear, ridden after 2 out, went 4th at last, kept on same pace, 4th of 7, 6l behind Big Buck's (11-7) at Aintree 3m hdl G1 (1) gd in Apr.
Blazing Bailey 11-4 (11-4) Tracked leading pair, shaken up after several fences, mistake 9th, went 2nd 12th, challenged 16th, led narrowly after 4 out, headed before 3 out, weakened next, 3rd of 5, 16l behind Fairoak Lad (11-4) at Wincanton 3m 1f nov chs (3) gd in Mar.
Coastley (IRE) 13-2 (10-7) Towards rear, headway on outside approaching 5th, weakened from 2 out, 9th of 12, 42l behind Inventor (11-5) at Hexham 2m hcp hdl (2) gf in Jun.
Duc De Regniere (FR) 10-3 (10-9) Tracked leaders, challenged 13th, left in lead 3 out, mistake 2 out, soon headed, driven to regain lead flat, stayed on, won at Cheltenham 2m 5f hcp chs G2 (1) gd in Apr beating I'm So Lucky (9-11) by nk, 7 ran.
Kayf Aramis 20-1 (11-10) Led, clear before 6th, reduced advantage 4 out, headed after 4 out, weakened before 2 out, 11th of 13, 33l behind Quevega (11-5) at Punchestown 3m hdl G1 gd in Apr.
Majestic Mayhem (IRE) 25-1 (11-6) Held up in touch, ridden in 5th and looked beaten when brought down 2 out, in a race won by Aiteen Thirtythree (10-12) at Cheltenham 3m 1f nh nov hdl (3) gd, 9 ran.
Raslan 9-1 (10-12) With leader, led 8th, ridden and headed between last 2, kept on same pace, lost 2nd flat, 3rd of 14, 3l behind Amber Brook (10-13) at Cheltenham 3m hcp hdl (2) gd.
