held up, headway when not fluent 3 out, soon hard ridden and beaten, hung right last
raced keenly, mid division, steady headway 6th, ridden and every chance flat, no extra towards finish
tracked leader, led 6th, headed and edged right flat, stayed on
held up towards rear, headway 9th, challenge when mistake 3 out, still every chance last, weakened towards finish
always prominent, challenge 3 out, still every chance when mistake last, stayed on flat
raced keenly, in touch, ridden after 9th, soon weakened
raced keenly, held up in rear, ridden approaching 3 out, no response
took keen hold, held up in rear, headway approaching 3 out, ridden to lead flat, ran on well
led to 6th, chased leader until 9th, weakened approaching 3 out
A competitive little heat for the track and Barneys Mate has been in fine form in running up a c&d hat-trick, but a 27lb rise for those wins means we'll oppose him today with St Mellion Freeway. The selection is 22lb better off with Barneys Mate for a defeat of around four lengths when the pair met here last month. Alison Thorpe's gelding acts on the track and on a sound surface and should be able to turn the tables. Barneys Mate should certainly give a good account again and a win would clearly be no shock, but it is a sharp rise in the weights for the eight-year-old to cope with. Englishtown is also 22lb better off with Barneys Mate for half a length and on that bare form alone he would be the pick. However, he is far from consistent and on that basis we'll field against him today. Don't Be Bleu is up 5lb for a Uttoxeter win and although this looks much tougher he does stay well and could make the frame. An interesting contest then and St Mellion Freeway gets the nod.
Thunder Rock (IRE) 10-1 (11-2) Held up, headway 6th, ridden 3 out, hit 2 out, no extra flat, 3rd of 9, 4l behind Jazz Scene (11-8) at N Abbot 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gf in Jul.
Barneys Mate 10-11fav (9-12) Keen, mid-division, led 4 out, challenged last, ridden and kept on, won at Worcester 3m hcp hdl 0-125 (3) gd in Jul beating Englishtown (11-2) by 1/2l, 8 ran.
Jass 10-1 (10-10) Chased leaders, lost place approaching 3rd, soon dropped out and pulled up at the 7th in race won by Hopkins (11-0) at Haydock 2m 4f nov hcp hdl (2) gs in Mar, 14 ran.
Englishtown (FR) 12-1 (11-2) Towards rear, headway 9th, not fluent 3 out, every chance last, all out towards finish, 2nd of 8, 1/2l behind Barneys Mate (9-12) at Worcester 3m hcp hdl 0-125 (3) gd in Jul.
St Mellion Freeway (IRE) 10-3 (11-1) Held up, headway after 3rd, led 7th, headed 9th, one pace, 3rd of 8, 4l behind Barneys Mate (9-12) at Worcester 3m hcp hdl 0-125 (3) gd in Jul.
Marrel 16-1 (10-2) Held up, headway after 5th, joined leader next, every chance 3 out, weakened flat, 3rd of 9, 14l behind Pocket Too (10-12) at Worcester 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gd in Jul.
Don't Be Bleu (IRE) 4-1 (11-12) Held up towards rear, headway approaching 7th, went 2nd after 2 out, edged left, led, driven out, won at Uttoxeter 2m 4f mrs hcp hdl (4) gs in Jul beating Another Storm (10-11) by 1 1/2l, 13 ran.
Symbiosis 5-2fav (11-6) Held up, headway 8th, weakened 4 out, last of 5, 38l behind Consigliere (11-11) at N Abbot 2m hcp chs 0-115 (4) sft in May.
