held up in last pair, headway to track leaders 6th, led well before 2 out, soon driven along, narrowly headed last, no extra run-in
not fluent, disputed 3rd place, headway 7th, ridden before 3 out, chased leader next, switched right before narrow lead and mistake last, stayed on well run-in
chased leader, outpaced and mistake 3 out, staying on when mistake last, took modest 3rd run-in
disputed 3rd place until broke down and pulled up after 7th
held up in last pair, hit 4th, ridden and struggling before 3 out
Blue Canyon, No Refuge and Royal Shakespeare form the shortlist in a smashing race for the Ascot Hurdle, with the vote going to Royal Shakespeare. Royal Shakespeare rediscovered his very smart novice form when landing the Elite Hurdle at Wincanton last time and, with the going to his liking, should go well. The Royal & SunAlliance Hurdle winner No Refuge rates as a massive danger, as does Francois Doumen's Haydock Grade 2 winner Blue Canyon. All in all, a race to savour, with the other three runners, Sh Boom, Mr Cool and the returning-from-injury, Accipiter, being no mugs, but the vote goes to Royal Shakespeare.
Blue Canyon (FR) 12-1 (11-7) Held up in mid-division, ridden approaching 3 out, no impression, 7th of 9, 13l behind Al Eile (11-7) at Aintree 2m 4f hdl Grd 1 (A) gs in Apr.
No Refuge (IRE) 17-2 (11-7) Mid-division, headway approaching 3 out, ridden next, ran on strongly flat to lead close home, won at Cheltenham 2m 5f nov hdl Grd 1 (A) gd in Mar beating Racing Demon (11-7) by 3/4l, 20 ran.
Royal Shakespeare (FR) 5-1 (11-1) Prominent, ridden approaching 2 out, headway and led last, driven out, won at Wincanton 2m hcp hdl Grd 2 (A) gd beating Intersky Falcon (11-10) by 1 1/2l, 9 ran.
Accipiter 14-1 (11-4) Held up in rear, headway approaching 3 out, soon ridden, led after 2 out, kept on flat, won at Aintree 3m nov hdl Grd 1 (A) gd in Apr '04 beating Grey Report (11-4) by 3/4l, 13 ran.
Mr Cool 20-1 (10-4) Chased leader to 3rd, led 4 out, headed after 3 out, weakened quickly approaching last, 4th of 15, 1l behind Lacdoudal (10-6) at Chepstow 2m 4f lst hcp hdl (A) sft in Oct.
Sh Boom 11-1 (11-0) Mid-division, lost place 4 out, tailed off when pulled up 2 out in race won by Inglis Drever (11-8) at Wetherby 3m 1f hdl Grd 2 (A) sft in Oct, 11 ran.
