tracked leaders, mistake 7th, hit next, held 4 out, weakened next
tracked leaders, led 6th, clear approaching 4 out, ridden flat, headed post
led, not fluent 2nd, headed 6th, ridden 8th, weakened 10th
chased leaders, not fluent 1st, reminders after 6th, went 2nd 4 out, jumped left 3 out, switched right flat, stayed on to lead post
prominent, lost place approaching 7th, soon behind
mid-division, not fluent 3rd, headway 6th, went 2nd next until 4 out, beaten 2 out, weakened approaching last
in rear, struggling after 6th, headway next, weakened 8th, pulled up before 10th
held up towards rear, headway 7th, hit 11th, held from 4 out, weakened 2 out
mid-division, not fluent and dropped rear 2nd, behind after 6th, tailed off before next, pulled up after
Some old favourites face the starter here but Storm Of Applause usually finds at least one too good and Sunday City still looks too high in the weights, though will strip fitter for his comeback run at Ludlow. Southwell and Ffos Las winner Patman Du Charmil disappointed last time and Qulinton ran a shocker when tailed off behind Cruchain at Cheltenham last month. Intac may not have beaten much at Hereford and more interesting is SIR IAN, who made giant strides last year and beat Storm of Applause over this C&D in September. Despite starting favourite on his reappearance at Bangor in March, that run was probably needed and Charlie Longsdon's eight-year-old should be a different proposition today.
Sunday City (JPN) 7-2 (11-12) Tracked leaders, pitched on landing 5th, disputing close 2nd when slipped badly bend approaching 4 out, not recover, 4th of 6, 24l behind Tyup Pompey (10-0) at Ludlow 2m 4f hcp chs 0-135 (3) gd in Apr.
Sir Ian (IRE) 2-1fav (11-6) Tracked leader and keen, ridden to lead before 2 out, headed 2 out, soon weakened, 5th of 7, 33l behind Pouvoir (11-1) at Bangor 2m 4f hcp chs 0-135 (3) gd in Mar.
Patman Du Charmil (FR) 10-3fav (11-6) Led, sometimes jumped left, headed after 9th, not fluent 11th, ridden next, weakened 3 out, tailed off, 5th of 7, well behind Tyup Pompey (10-0) at Ludlow 2m 4f hcp chs 0-135 (3) gd in Apr.
Qulinton (FR) 4-1 (11-4) Always in rear, driven and struggling 8th, tailed off, 8th of 9, 46l behind Cruchain (10-10) at Cheltenham 2m cnd hcp chs (0-135) (3) gd in Apr.
Intac (IRE) 9-4 (11-12) Led until 4th, led 5th, headed 8th, led again 10th, headed before 3 out, led before 2 out, clear last, stayed on, won at Hereford 2m 3f nov hcp chs 0-115 (4) gf in Apr beating Gentleman Anshan (11-0) by 6l, 5 ran.
Cruchain (IRE) 3-1 (10-6) Led, jumped right 5th, ridden and headed after 3 out, no extra flat, 3rd of 6, 10l behind Pepe Simo (11-7) at Newton Abbot 2m hcp chs 0-150 (2) gd in Apr.
Just Smudge 50-1 (10-0) Held up, behind 10th, pulled up before 12th, in a race won by Prince De Beauchene (10-5) at Aintree 3m 1f lstd hcp chs (1) gd in Apr, 15 ran.
Storm of Applause (IRE) 13-8fav (11-12) Tracked leaders, not fluent 6th, ridden after 3 out, not fluent 2 out, chased winner approaching last, stayed on, not able to trouble winner, 2nd of 5, 3 1/2l behind High Jack (10-13) at Stratford 2m 4f hcp chs 0-130 (3) gf in Apr.
Rodrigo Gonzales (IRE) 5-1 (11-5) Led until 2nd, pressed winner, challenged 6th, not fluent next, hit 10th, lost 2nd next, weakened 12th, left modest 3rd 4 out, hampered and dropped to 4th soon after, weakened, tailed off, 5th of 6, well behind Shakalakaboomboom (11-1) at Kempton 2m 4f hcp chs 0-135 (3) gd in Nov.
