| Course: FONTWELL | Race date:25/05/08 | Race time:2:05 | Runners:13 |
| Race distance:2m2½f | Going:Good | Winners time:4m 25.00s |
| Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Stall | Weight | Age | RPR | OR | Odds | B High | B Ave | B Low | In run | Finished | Dist Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qrackers | Sam Thomas | P F Nicholls | 11-0 | 4 | 0 | 120 | 11/8F | NA | NA | NA | NA | 1 | ||
| Abutilon | S P Jones | B G Powell | 10-9 | 5 | 0 | 84 | 9/2 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 2 | 17 | |
| Darksideofthemoon | Mr D H Dunsdon | N J Gifford | 10-9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 12/1 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 3 | 3½ | |
| Daring Approach | Mark Bradburne | Mrs H R J Nelmes | 10-12 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 40/1 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 4 | 3½ | |
| Lit Et Mixe | Richard Johnson | Noel T Chance | 11-5 | 5 | 0 | 107 | 4/1 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 5 | 1 | |
| Southern Tide | Daryl Jacob | L A Dace | 10-12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100/1 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 6 | 30 | |
| Lady Traill | Jamie Moore | G L Moore | 10-0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6/1 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 7 | 5 | |
| Musical Chairs | Paul Moloney | Miss H C Knight | 10-12 | 6 | 0 | 107 | 14/1 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 8 | 11 | |
| Desert Soul | Colin Bolger | R H York | 10-4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 50/1 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 9 | 34 | |
| Grey Topper | Joe Tizzard | B J M Ryall | 10-12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100/1 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 10 | 19 | |
| Cinderbanks | Marc Goldstein | M J Roberts | 10-0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100/1 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 11 | 5 | |
| Christalini | Sean Fox | J C Fox | 10-8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 80/1 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 12 | 90 | |
| Height Of Spirits | Marcus Foley | T D McCarthy | 10-12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100/1 | NA | NA | NA | NA | PU |
Qrackers tracked leading pair, went 2nd at 4th, led 6th, cruised clear from 3 out, canter
Abutilon held up in rear, headway after 5th, ridden and went 8 lengths 2nd 2 out, mistake last, not trouble winner
Darksideofthemoon held up in midfield, some headway when blundered 6th, stayed on same pace, never reached challenging position
Daring Approach led until 6th, easily outpaced by winner from 3 out, 3rd and beaten when mistake last
Lit Et Mixe in touch early, lost place 3rd, mistake and hard ridden 5th, tried to rally and hard driven 3 out, no impression
Southern Tide reluctant to line up, took keen hold, jumped slowly 1st, soon in midfield, blundered 3rd, behind from 5th, passed beaten horses from 3 out
Lady Traill mid-division, mistake 2nd, reminders 3rd and 5th, driven along and headway into 3rd place at 6th, soon weakened
Musical Chairs held up in rear, no danger from 6th
Desert Soul prominent, mistake 2nd, not fluent and weakened 6th
Grey Topper chased leaders, blundered 2nd, soon lost place, behind and ridden 5th
Cinderbanks not jump well, prominent until 5th, soon behind
Christalini took keen hold in midfield, mistake 3rd, weakened after 5th, soon behind
Height Of Spirits took fierce hold in rear and hard to control, lost touch after 5th, soon well behind, pulled up before 3 out
The four-year-old jumped far more fluently than those backed to beat him, and will carry on in hurdles through the summer.
Daniel Skelton, assistant to trainer Paul Nicholls, said: "He was always taking his time in juvenile hurdles, but is more adept now and will make a chaser."
Abutilon attracted each-way support on his switch back to hurdles. He was the only other to travel nearly as well as the winner, but although closing the gap between the last two was always booked for second at best.
Daring Approach was a winner between the flags in Ireland before his form deteriorated somewhat. He made much of the running on his British debut and plugged on, while Lit Et Mixe ruined his chance with some sloppy jumping, failing to react to some stern reminders throughout the final circuit.
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