| Course: CHELTENHAM | Race date:18/04/08 | Race time:5:00 | Runners:9 |
| Race distance:2m½f | Going:Good | Winners time:4m 2.80s |
| Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Stall | Weight | Age | RPR | OR | Odds | B High | B Ave | B Low | In run | Finished | Dist Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ela Re | Tjade Collier | Mrs S J Smith | 11-3 | 9 | 0 | 129 | 9/1 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 1 | ||
| Magic Sky | Charlie Poste | M F Harris | 11-6 | 8 | 0 | 132 | 13/2 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 2 | 1¾ | |
| Its Crucial | David England | N A Twiston-Davies | 10-4 | 8 | 0 | 116 | 3/1J | NA | NA | NA | NA | 3 | ¾ | |
| Bleu Superbe | Liam Treadwell | Miss Venetia Williams | 11-4 | 13 | 0 | 130 | 12/1 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 4 | ¾ | |
| Flying Spirit | Eamon Dehdashti | G L Moore | 10-8 | 9 | 0 | 120 | 16/1 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 5 | 9 | |
| O'Toole | Darren O´Dwyer | P J Hobbs | 10-10 | 9 | 0 | 125 | 3/1J | NA | NA | NA | NA | 6 | shd | |
| Genghis | T Molloy | P Bowen | 10-6 | 9 | 0 | 115 | 12/1 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 7 | 18 | |
| Forest Green | Liam Heard | P F Nicholls | 11-9 | 6 | 0 | 135 | 5/1 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 8 | 1¼ | |
| Scalloway | Robert Lucey-Butler | Carl Llewellyn | 10-13 | 8 | 0 | 125 | 14/1 | NA | NA | NA | NA | PU |
Ela Re kept away from rest at start, raced keenly, led 4th, 3 lengths clear and going best when hit 3 out, soon ridden, stayed on gamely
Magic Sky not fluent 3rd, held up in last until 8th, not fluent next, ridden before 3 out, steady progress after, cajoled into 2nd final 50yds, not reach winner
Its Crucial mistake 5th, not fluent 7th, headway 8th, ridden before 3 out, never looked like catching winner but kept on to go 3rd near finish
Bleu Superbe hit 5th, chased winner 6th until 8th but not fluent 7th, regained 2nd 10th, ridden after next, no impression, weakened to lose two places closing stages
Flying Spirit midfield, not fluent 8th, ridden before 3 out, beaten before 2 out
O´Toole tracked leaders, mistake 5th, effort 10th, ridden after next, little response, beaten 2 out
Genghis lacked fluency, ridden to go 2nd 8th until 10th, dropped out tamely before next
Forest Green settled in rear, effort 9th, ridden before 3 out but never threatened, beaten when blundered 2 out, eased last
Scalloway led until 4th, last after 8th, tailed off and pulled up 3 out
A fine old handicap was this year confined to conditional jockeys, but that did nothing to detract from the quality of the contest, which was right up to scratch. Victory went the way of ELA RE, who received a fine enterprising ride from the excellent Tjade Collier, who sent his mount into the lead heading away from the stands, and from that point the pair were never headed. A blunder at the third-last would have knocked the stuffing out of many horses, but Ela Re had all his rivals off the bridle by then, and in the end he was a thoroughly deserving winner. Straightforward he may not be, but his attitude under pressure was faultless.
Magic Sky has run in some of this season's top handicaps, including when ninth over this course and distance in the Grand Annual, but he is very hard to win with at the moment, and he once again ran well without winning.
Its Crucial, who was racing off a 6lb lower mark than will now be the case after his Newbury second six days earlier, was finishing better than anything else, but his chance had been ruined by a few mistakes. He also got tapped for toe at the start of the descent to the third-last, and on this ground and over this trip he just found things happening a little too quickly.
Flying Spirit was not disgraced on his first run back after a long absence and nor was O'Toole, who made mistakes and got tired, particularly after a slight fluff of the penultimate fence. Both horses will be that little bit sharper with this run under their belts.
Forest Green, who had appeared here the previous day, did not build on the promise he showed in that longer novice handicap.
Racing results courtesy of racing post. Please note that ever effort is made to ensure results are correct but I accept no liability for mistakes. The data is provided as a free service.
Please visit my Blog or sign up to my racing forum for the latest news and views.