held up and keen, ridden 4th, chased winner in vain from 2 out
tracked winner, jumped left 2nd and 3rd, ridden from next, soon weakened
made all, clear 2 out, hit last, pushed out
Spuradich can give weight away all round against his three rivals, the best of whom may be the four-year-old War Pennant. This race has cut up very badly, with just four remaining of the 21 declared at the five-day stage, and in truth there should be little for Spuradich to beat. The Jonjo O'Neill-trained six-year-old was considered a useful enough handicapper on the Flat for Luca Cumani, and indeed made his final outing for the Newmarket handler a winning one in September 2004. It has to said that he has not looked the safest conveyance on any of his four runs over timber since joining Jonjo, but he travelled really well between the obstacles when eventually second at Towcester in May, and since then is sure to have been extensively schooled to take away the rough edges. He was also put in the weaker maiden that opens this card, but the fact that he instead lines up here despite topping the handicap suggests that connections are happy enough with him. Gary Moore won this race 12 months ago with Space Cowboy and now relies on War Pennant who has given a glimmer of hope on each of his three outings over timber to date. However, first-time blinkers did not work the oracle when he was last of eight on the Flat at Windsor a fortnight ago, and it remains to be seen how he will react to them here. Tashkandi was Group class on the level in France a few years ago but has failed to cut any ice since going timber-topping, and is hard to fancy despite the stable's good fortune of late, and all in all, Spuradich will never have a better chance than this.
Smoothly Does It 7-2jt-fav (11-1) Mid-division, switched left and headway 5th, weakened 2 out, 5th of 11, 20l behind Majestic Vision (10-10) at N Abbot 2m 1f mdn hdl (4) gd.
War Pennant 9-1 (10-12) In touch, driven after 2nd, chased leader approaching 2 out, every chance last, stayed on, 3rd of 13, 2l behind Hugs Destiny (11-1) at Southwell 2m mdn hdl (5) gf in Jun.
Tashkandi (IRE) 7-1 (10-6) Chased leader, jumped left 1st, mistake and lost place 2nd, jumped badly left 3rd, behind 4th, tailed off, 13th of 17, well behind Ishka Baha (11-4) at Wincanton 2m nov hcp hdl 0-95 (F) gd in Dec.
Spuradich (IRE) 6-4fav (11-11) Held up, headway 5th, ridden to chase winner and pecked 2 out, weakened flat, 3rd of 14, 14l behind Merryvale Man (11-4) at Towcester 2m hcp hdl 0-105 (4) gs in May.
