This Prestige Steeplechase over 5500m saw a rising 11yo gelding in Gagarin continue a super consistent 2019 so far. Gagarin has raced (including today) eight times since resuming in April and in that time has won twice as a Steeplechaser and finished runner up three times (two of those as Steeplechaser and one of them came in a Prestige event) and two fourths and one fifth. The winners on the day and where they turned for home in race order were led (five-off the inside by three lengths), fourth (seven-off the inside and three lengths from the leader), fifth (four-off the inside and three lengths from the leader), led (four-off the inside and a length ahead), led (five-off the inside and five lengths ahead), led (two-off the inside and a length ahead), second (on the fence and three lengths from the leader) and second (three-off the inside and half a length from the leader). Gagarin settled down last in the field that takes a figure-eight course circuit so runners have differing lead legs for half the race. He looped around the field inside the final lap and took the front over 1000m out and went clear in the process too, so in effect dropped it on his rivals a long way out. Thereafter he defied the rest to come and get him and they could not as he ploughed through the bottomless mud of Trentham to score by over two lengths in 7:10.91. It was his tenth win from sixty-one starts and three of those are as a Steeplechaser and four of them as a Hurdler but also interestingly seven of his wins have come at 2500m and up to and including 5500m. Kipkeino ran a game second and never gave up trying after settling back then gradually improving before moving up second a lap out. He loves the mud but remarkably today was just his fourth ever Steeplechase outing and his maiden win came just under a year ago plus he was placed in an Open Steeplechase in June this year and the winner that day was Gagarin. Perry Mason raced fourth mostly and was third with a 1000m to go but he ended up very distant at the line over nineteen lengths behind the winner. The rest that finished came home at big intervals with Magic Wonder fourth beaten over thirty lengths then Wise Men Say fifth and over thirty-eight lengths away. Zamora was sixth beaten over forty-five lengths while Caballo Noir surprisingly was kept going and got beat over one hundred and fifteen lengths, which is a dreadful look for the sport. The gelding was well gone across the top and should have been pulled up instead of risking trying to clear the last fence for absolutely no benefit whatsoever. This overall result was more to do with what handled the very testing Trentham mud and proving that was the fact that in of the four jumps races held today a staggering twelve runners were pulled up in the running. Alarmingly for bettors pockets of those dozen non-finishers two were clear favourites and two were clear second favourites and one was a third elect on the tote.