in rear and not fluent, fell 8th
tracked leaders in 3rd, hit last, soon ridden and one pace run-in
led to 4 out, ridden after last, weakened last 75 yards
in touch, pushed along after 11th, soon outpaced and in rear, kept on to challenge last, led towards finish, held on well
towards rear, not fluent 1st, headway 12th, weakened before 2 out
with leader early, tracked leader, led 4 out, ridden before last, kept on and headed towards finish
Brain Power stayed on late into second behind Footpad in the Arkle but this will be his first run over 2m4f and the trip might take some getting in the conditions. His jumping also remains a concern. Finian's Oscar won a Grade 1 over hurdles on this card 12 months ago but he’s not scaled the heights expected over fences after a promising start. He was soon beaten in the JLT at Cheltenham last month and it remains to be seen if a wind operation has had any benefit. CYRNAME was only beaten a neck by JLT runner-up Terrafort in the Grade 1 Scilly Isles at Sandown in February when conceding 3lb. He had to survive a bad blunder to go one better in a Grade 2 at Kempton but this is his trip and he’s done nothing wrong over the larger obstacles so far. Rene's Girl has won three out of four over fences and has a 7lb mares’ allowance but this is her toughest task to date and Modus looks held on Cheltenham running.
Brain Power (IRE) 14-1 (11-4) Held up off the pace in last, went 4th from the 3rd, leading pair well clear before 5th, went 3rd and closed on downhill run to 3 out where not fluent, landed awkwardly 2 out, hung left just after last, switched right flat, went 2nd close home, no chance with winner, 2nd of 5, 14l behind Footpad (11-4) at Cheltenham 2m (1) hvy in Mar.
Calino D'Airy (FR) 10-1 (11-8) Tracked leaders, 3rd early, not fluent 2nd, weakened from before last, soon eased, 14th of 18, dist behind Tisamystery (10-0) at Leopardstown 2m 1f hcp Yielding in Dec.
Cyrname (FR) 2-5fav (11-5) Mostly jumped well, made all and set strong gallop, clear 5 out, rider lost irons when stood off and reached for next, soon recovered, driven clear again before 2 out, stayed on well, unchallenged, won at Kempton 2m 4f (1) gd in Feb beating The Unit (11-0) by 11l, 4 ran.
Finian's Oscar (IRE) 11-2 (11-4) Tracked front pair, disputed lead after 4 out, lost place after next, soon outpaced, ridden between last 2, plugged on to dispute modest 3rd briefly after last, no extra, 5th of 9, 15 1/4l behind Shattered Love (10-11) at Cheltenham 2m 4f (1) sft in Mar.
Modus 12-1 (11-4) Pecked 1st, held up in touch, lost place 7th, in last trio when blundered 10th, mistake 4 out, outpaced and behind from next, weakened 2 out, 8th of 9, dist behind Shattered Love (10-11) at Cheltenham 2m 4f (1) sft in Mar.
Rene's Girl (IRE) 4-1 (11-4) Led until 3rd, chased leader, not fluent 8th, led before 2 out, edged right flat, driven out, won at Huntingdon 2m 4f lst (1) sft in Feb beating Happy Diva (11-0) by 2l, 6 ran.
