dunlaying

Apple Away 0
Fontaine Collonges +1
Famous Bridge +1
Galia Des Liteaux +3
Yeah Man +4
Where It All Began +4
Royal Pagaille +4
...
,..
Jubilee Express +15
...............
QUIMBET Chase
Blizzard Of Oz 0
Lombron +7
...........
Doha
11.30
Shadow Army 0??
Age Of Gold 0
Al Qudra +1
La Bellota +3

Shadow Army lost his way and was gelded before his last run .
..........
1.15
Rebels Romance 0
Alflaila +2
Kings Gambit +4
The Foxes +4

Hyland 0
Conflated +1??
Three Card Brag +2
Vanillier +4
Fil d'Or +4
Appreciate It +4
Intense Raffles +5
Hewick +7
Duffle Coat+8
Chantry House +8
Micellar Indo +9
Stumptown +10
Monbeg Genius +10
I Am Maximus +10
Hitman +10
Celebre dialled +10

Under 10.4 have been left out .
I have rated the Gold Cup as if the result was kosher . That means the winner gets the highest rating I have had for the last 50+ years . A court case is not a good idea for a coffin dodger so think of the result as a fluke .

Lays : Iroko , poorly weighted and whatever he finds there are others above him that could find also .
      I Am Maximus , a sloppy jumper who might remember how easy the obstacles are , that could see him taking one Liberty too many .
      Hewick , poorly weighted and ground dependent . His best form does not stand the test of time .
Short list : Intense Raffles , Vanillier and Hyland even though he needs good ground . For an outsider what about Royal Pagaille ? If a deluge arrived he could come into the reckoning and imagine what the Sunday rags could make of that story !

I backed Hyland early but like the look of Celebre D'Allen . He goes well fresh , goes on the ground , has form over both Aintree courses , is lightly raced for an old timer and is at the top of his form . He is worth a little e/w at 125/1 nrnb .

Sir Gino 0
L'Eau du Sud +2
.........!!...
Matata 0
Master Chewy +3
Edwardstone +3
Sir Gino +4
Libberty Hunter +6


I am as surprised as you are . The default is set to 1 year .
...........
Hitman 0
Fugitive +5
Sam Brown +5
GALaw +6
Bravemansgame +6

Ballyburn 0
Croke Park +3
Better Days Ahead +3
Impaired Et Passe +5
Champ Kiely +8
Prairie Dancer +16+
.........?.
El Fabiolo 0
Garlic Warrior +1
Captain Guinness +9
Gentleman De Mee +10
Solness +11
.......

A quick look at some provisionals .
Opera Ballo was impressive and from little evidence I have him on +11+ . In the next race on that card I have Quai De Bethune on the same perch . The last named supports my claim that Cosmic Year(+2+) is top class and his rating is independent of his third to the Juddmonte star .
Noble Champion I have on +3 but , sadly , that form lacks any support at all . If he gets an entry he could still be of interest .EDIT there is now some support for the high figure
Hanting improved at the back end and is on a very shaky +6 . I went to check that this Italian youngster was a colt and true to form I could not find it . Trained by Botti .
All figure are wrt Henri Matisse 0

I missed the Hannon horse off . Stem(IRE) +6+ , bolted in at Newbury on heavy ground . The form is tenuous but this colt is entered at The Curragh in both Guineas and Derby .
EDIT : Opera Ballo goes to +7+ and Quai De Bethune remains on +11+ for the time being . The latter might not have run his race .

Taking results from the desert and all weather I am getting the impression that we did not see the best 2 y o colts last season. 

Obviously the first half dozen of the market leaders have chances but does anything else stand out ?

Fakir D'Oudairies could be a long term plot and that applies to Conflated .
Pinkerton might be a lively outsider , a likeable type .
But one horse stands out like a sore thumb , Hyland , from the Henderson yard . If my reading is correct he could represent The Jukebox Man with 10 .6 .
My guess for the cut off is around our old friend Roi Mage ie 56 .
.............
Sea Hector 0
Dolayli 0
Stormy Ocean +1
Mozart +1
Assassi +2
First Conquest +4
Cairo +4
Highbank +5
Hans Anderson +6
This is a favourite to take on .
..........
Ile Atlantique 0
Firefox +5
Touch Me Not +14
the figure for Majborough is very poor but clearly he is well thought of .
........
Galopin Des Champs 0
I Am Maximus +4
Conflated +5??
Hewick +6
Fact To File +7
Embassy Gardens +8+

Shannon Royale 0
Spanish Harlem +4
Macs Charm +10
Velvet Elvis +11
Stormy Judge +11
Glengouly +11
....
Mysterious Knight 0
Danyah 0
Make Me King +3
Native Approach +5
........
Romantic Warrior 0
Poker Face +3
Measured Time +3
Holloway Boy +3
Ottoman Fleet +8
..?..........
L'homme Presse 0
Delta Work +3
Gentlemansgame +4
Stage Star +5
Chantry House +5+

The favourite looks far too short as he is not certain to get home .

Ile Atlantique 0
The Jukebox Man +1
Ballyburn +2+
Croke Park +5
Better Days Ahead +5
Springwell Bay +6+
Gorgeous Tom +6
Peaky Boy +7
Impaired Et Passe +7
Dancing City +7

Early days but it has the makings of a decent race .
?.?........
Galopin Des Champs 0
Ahoy Senor +3?
Gerri Colombe +5
Conflated +5??
Hewick +6?
Banbridge +6
The Real Whacker +7
Jungle Boogie +7
Fact To File +7+
Il Est Francais +8
Gentlemansgame +8
Embassy Gardens +8+
Corbett Cross +8
......
Jonbon 0
El Fabiolo +1
Garlic Warrior +2
Energumene +6+
Banbridge +6
Jungle Boogie +7
Edwardstone +7
Il Est Francais +8
Matata +10+

To rate The Clarence House I put Jonbon on his previous best .
Matata I held back on because he might have got away with it at Windsor . However , I was impressed by him .


An apprentice worth his claim is Warren Fentiman .

Juggling the default I have arrived at these figures . I draw no conclusion other than it is a race to watch rather than gamble on .



Energumene.  0.   +10    +6
Jonbon.     +3.    0.    +3
Edwardstone +7    +4.    0
Boothill.  +10.   +7    +6

From left to right are figures drawn with default at 2year , 1 year and 6 months .

The Edwardstone top figure is handicap form . A clue to its worth could be given by Matator in an earlier race .
I do not believe that Jonbon did any more when beating Quilixios than he did first time back .
........?.......
Mr Vango 0
Richmond Lake +4
Trelawne +13
Iwilldoit +13
.........
Flegmatik 0
Terrestial +7
Hitman +7
Latenightpass +10

Romantic Style 0
Choisya +4
Ziggys Dream +4
Ultima +5
Easy with me +5

The favourite is too short at 1/3 . She has been off for a while and 4lb equates to 2 lengths .