held up 5th and last, left moderate 4th at 9th, soon struggling, no chance with leaders, tailed off
tracked leaders, under pressure when left 3rd at 9th, soon no chance with front pair, tailed off
raced keenly, tracked leaders on outside, 4 lengths down in 3rd when fell 9th
tracked leader, challenged 5 out, led next, 3 lengths clear last, ridden flat, held on towards finish
led, headed 4 out, ridden after next, 2 lengths down in clear 2nd when blundered 2 out, kept on flat, held towards finish
MAN OF LEISURE has the highest official rating of these over hurdles and arrives in terrific form. He's the senior citizen in this but represents a very shrewd yard and is sure to have had plenty of schooling so gets the nod. Ski Sunday has been placed in two of his three runs over fences so far but hasn't raced since February and was out of sorts when last seen. Red Riverman improved over timber last season and is still only a five-year-old so may have more to offer but Lava Lamp isn't the biggest and fell when tried over the larger obstacles at Bangor last year.
Inthelineoffire (IRE) 3-1 (12-0) (tt) prom til wknd 9; pu 11, in a race won by Bang On Trend (12-0) at Ystrad Taf Fechan 3m ptp gs in Apr, 7 ran.
Lava Lamp (GER) 14-1 (10-9) Held up in mid-division, not fluent 1st, ridden and struggling 10th, plugged on flat, 8th of 12, 16l behind Church Field (10-4) at Cartmel 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-140 (3) gf in Jul.
Man Of Leisure 7-4fav (11-9) Held up, in touch 6th, mistakes 7th and 8th, led 3 out, bumped 2 out, driven flat, held on well, won at Worcester 2m 7f hcp hdl 0-135 (3) gd in Jul beating Mission Complete (9-9) by nk, 6 ran.
Red Riverman 25-1 (11-7) Chased leader until 3rd, soon dropped to 4th, went modest 3rd before 3 out, tailed off, 3rd of 5, 48l behind Melodic Rendezvous (11-11) at Exeter 2m 1f Listed nov hdl (1) hvy in Feb.
Ski Sunday 10-1 (11-9) In touch on inside, lost place after 8th, weakened 3 out, tailed off, last of 10, well behind Tullyraine (11-2) at Bangor 3m hcp hdl 0-130 (3) sft in Feb.
