held up towards rear, headway 3 out, ridden to chase leaders next, weakened approaching last
held up, headway and in touch 3 out, edged right from next, ridden flat, kept on
tracked leaders, smooth headway approaching 3 out, led last, ridden and ran on well flat
tracked clear leader, led after 6th, ridden and came stands side approaching 2 out, headed last, kept on same pace flat
tracked leaders, ridden and effort 2 out, no impression approaching last
held up in rear, headway 4 out, chased leaders next, ridden and weakened 2 out
led and not jumped well, clear until jumped slowly 6th, soon headed, weakened 4 out, tailed off when pulled up before last
Totally Scottish can make fitness count against Westmeath Flyer, with Hugo De Perro the other main player in a weak contest. At the age of nine, Totally Scottish was gaining only his fourth career success when scoring in similar company at Doncaster five days ago. He was sent off favourite that day and had little difficulty in seeing off Hopbine, so a follow up is very much on the cards. Trainer Keith Reveley reckons that his inmate has been harshly treated by the handicapper in the past, so has more or less been forced to run him in these events. The move should pay off again, as Westmeath Flyer has not been out since successfully giving weight away all round in a handicap hurdle at Perth in May. Mind you, that was his first outing since falling at Kelso the previous January, so he obviously goes well fresh and will put up a good show. Hugo De Perro gave weight and a beating to Totally Scottish in this race last year, despite losing ground at the start, and they meet off levels today. Strictly, that should be enough for him to uphold the form, but Lucinda Russell's charge has been very disappointing lately and his old tendency to refuse to race has re-surfaced on more than one occasion. With that in mind, we take Totally Scottish to gain revenge.
Hugo De Perro (FR) 25-1 Reluctant to race and started slowly, headway into mid-division 5th, weakened 7th, 9th of 12, 33l behind Indy Mood at Newcastle 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-125 (D) sft in Jan.
Totally Scottish 10-3fav Held up, headway approaching 3 out, ridden after 2 out, led run-in, kept on well, won at Doncaster 2m 3f clm hdl (F) gd beating Hopbine by 3l, 15 ran.
Westmeath Flyer 9-2 Held up towards rear, headway approaching 3 out, led approaching last, driven out, won at Perth 3m hcp hdl 0-120 (D) gd in May beating Harrovian by 3/4l, 9 ran.
Heavenly Stride 12-1 Chased leaders until lost place after 5 out and pulled up 2 out in race won by Torkinking at Newcastle 2m hcp hdl 0-105 (E) gs in Jan, 13 ran.
Crystal Gift 25-1 Held up, lost place 6th and pulled up 3 out in race won by Olney Lad at Wetherby 2m 4f hcp hdl (B) sft in Jan, 11 ran.
Barrow (SWI) 66-1 Behind, pushed along 4th, no headway after 3 out, 7th of 13, 19l behind Tighe Caster at Sandown 2m cnd hcp hdl 0-115 (E) gs in Feb.
Harben (FR) 20-1 Chased leaders until hit 5th and lost place, tailed off when pulled up 2 out in race won by Jolika at Ayr 2m nov hcp chs 0-100 (E) hvy in Feb, 9 ran.
