in rear, blundered 7 out, weakened from 4 out
tracked leaders, ridden to challenged last, every chance run-in, kept on and held near finish
tracked leader, ridden before last, kept on and led towards finish
led, ridden before last, headed towards finish, no extra
NonRunner
There may only be five runners in this but, apart from Next Exit, all would have some sort of chance, though stamina could be an issue with Viens Chercher. Kerrow has only run in handicaps so far over fences and may struggle against a couple of these off level weights. Premier Bond probably has more to do than when scoring at Catterick in first-time cheekpieces so the vote goes to AUX PTITS SOINS. Easily the best of these over hurdles, Paul Nicholls’ charge was value for more than his winning margin at Kelso and should continue on his upward curve.
Aux Ptits Soins (FR) 6-4fav (11-1) Tracked leaders, led 4th, headed before 6th, led 2 out, blundered last, kept on, won at Kelso 2m 7f (3) gs in Dec beating Westren Warrior (11-1) by 1l, 5 ran.
Kerrow (IRE) 4-1 (11-8) Held up in touch, headway tracking leaders 4th, 3rd before 3 out, 2nd 3 out, led before 2 out, ridden approaching last, joined when not fluent last, stayed on to assert final 100 yards, won at Taunton 2m 7f hcp (3) gd in Dec beating Silver Commander (11-7) by 1 3/4l, 9 ran.
Premier Bond 2-1fav (11-0) Tracked leader, disputed lead after 11th, led 4 out, driven clear from 2 out, kept on well, comfortably, won at Catterick 3m 1f (4) gs in Jan beating Jovial Joey (11-6) by 13l, 6 ran.
Viens Chercher (IRE) 7-2fav (11-1) Tracked leaders, outpaced before 4 out, kept on same pace, 4th of 9, 13l behind Cold March (11-11) at Musselburgh 2m 4f hcp (2) gd in Jan.
Next Exit (IRE) 16-1 (10-3) Tracked leader, led from 2nd, headed before 4 out, weakened before 3 out, 5th of 9, dist behind Midnight Jade (11-5) at Leicester 2m 4f hcp (5) gd in Jan.
