tracked leader, hit 2nd, led approaching 3 out, headed and not fluent 2 out, kept on same pace
held up in touch, ridden and weakened approaching 6th
tracked leaders and keen, led approaching 6th, headed approaching 3 out, soon weakened
pecked 1st, held up in touch, hard ridden approaching 3 out, led 2 out, hit last, kept on, driven out
mistake 2nd, held off from 4th
led, headed approaching 6th, soon weakened
Amicelli has a penalty to overcome and so Meneur De Jeu is the selection, with Crackleando best of the remainder. At first glance Amicelli has obvious claims, having opened his account on his first start for Philip Hobbs at Ludlow on 2 May, but although it was a facile victory on what was his first outing in over a year, the fact remains that he did not beat much. He now has a penalty to carry, and the former Charlie Mann inmate may be worth taking on. We shall do so with Meneur De Jeu, a winner over fences in France last year and who took on the mighty Cyrlight on two occasions. He so nearly made a winning start for Martin Pipe when short-headed by Hirvine at Newcastle in January, but did not jump well when falling on his only subsequent outing at Sandown in February and has been rested since. The break will have done him good, and a spell over hurdles will restore his confidence. The only doubt is his ability to act on the faster ground, but he could turn out to be a class above his rivals here, and so is surely worth a small wager. The only other to make any appeal is Crackleando, successful in moderate company in soft ground at Hereford in March. He is only small and also has a penalty to shoulder, so is another with as many negatives as positives. All in all, Amecelli has a favourite's chance, but at the likely odds is worth taking on with Meneur De Jeu.
Amicelli (GER) 7-4fav (11-0) Chased leaders, led approaching 8th, clear after 3 out, eased flat, won at Ludlow 2m 5f nov hdl (E) gd in May beating Reasonably Sure (10-11) by 16l, 11 ran.
Crackleando 7-2 (10-12) Tracked leader until after 6th, mistake 3f out, soon weakened, 6th of 8, 13l behind Bogus Dreams (10-8) at Bangor 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-125 (D) gs in Apr.
Loriko d'Airy (FR) 10-1 (11-12) Led until 6th, soon ridden, weakened next, 7th of 8, 36l behind Dangerousdanmagru (11-6) at Exeter 2m 1f hcp chs 0-110 (E) hvy in May.
Meneur De Jeu (FR) 5-1 (11-3) Held up, reminders after 3rd, jumped slowly 8th, mistake next, losing touch when fell at the 12th in race won by Chauvinist (11-10) at Sandown 2m 4f nov chs (C) gs in Feb, 6 ran.
Men Of Destiny (IRE) 8-1 (10-7) Led, headed after 2f, stayed prominent, ridden 5f out, kept on one pace final 2f, 5th of 8, 11l behind Tokala (10-9) at Worcester 2m nhf (H) gf in May.
Miss Flinders 11-4 (11-9) unseated rider in race won by Force Twelve (12-0) at Larkhill 3m ptp gd in Apr, 8 ran.
