kn, hld up, hdw 6th, led appr lst, rdn out
kn, hld up, rdn appr 3 out, sn wknd
kn, trk ldr, rdn and wknd appr 2 out
kn, i.t, hdw 5th, led 6th, hdd appr lst, one paced
An ordinary handicap which can be taken by Andrew Doble. The Venetia Williams-trained gelding was a little unlucky to be hampered and unseat his rider at Hereford in November, but shaped with plenty of promise last time out, when he was unable to change up the gears close to home and finished a four length third to Chief Cashier at Ludlow. That winner has gone on to score again since, and now that the four-year-old has got the hang of the game he can improve to score off a similar mark. Joshua's Bay has also taken a bit of time to blow off the cobwebs, but put up his best effort so far over course and distance last time. More cut in the ground, plus a 4lb drop are also in his favour and he can be the one to chase home the selection. Similarly, Dunraven should be thereabouts, judged on his running with Joshua's Bay here in November. Now 7lb lower than when winning a handicap here on good to soft, he normally jumps well enough and should be involved in the shake-up. Balakar makes his English debut, having shown promise over hurdles over two years ago. If he is fit then he could well be a threat here, but he will surely need the run after such a long lay-off. The others make little appeal.
