chased leaders, effort between last 2, kept on same pace
held up in mid-division, headway to chase leaders 10th, outpaced 4 out, kept on one pace from 2 out
in touch, reminders 6th, pushed along 11th, outpaced 4 out
in touch, outpaced when mistake 11th, soon beaten
not fluent in rear, never dangerous
chased leaders, mistake 2nd, mistake and hung left 6th, lost place 10th, no danger after
chased leaders, pulled up quicky after 2nd
towards rear, never dangerous
led, headed between last 2, one pace under pressure
in touch, pushed along 4 out, soon beaten
held up in mid-division, headway 10th, led between last 2, soon clear
Now Then Sid returns to the fray, and is the pick over Primitive Way, Gangsters R Us and Panmure. There was quite a large five-day entry for the opening event on the card, but it has been whittled down to just 11, and even now not too many have claims. One that definitely does however is Now Then Sid who has won twice over hurdles here in the past. Last year he was a regular visitor to Sedgefield though, winning two of his four outings over fences, the last of which was in September. Given a break to wait for better ground, he returns fresh, and as long as it does not rain, he should go close under Keith Mercer. Primitive Way is now 14-years of age, but has been a grand servant to connections, and he too returns from a break, having scored at Kelso in October. Gangsters R Us has plenty of weight but has been fairly consistent. He is slowly slipping back down to a fair mark and should be there or thereabouts. Peter Niven has been having a quiet time of things and Panmure needs to improve to figure, and so we return to Now Then Sid as the pick in a race that should take little winning.
Gangsters R Us (IRE) 4-1 (11-5) Held up, headway 11th, chased leaders 4 out, weakened next, 5th of 11, 22l behind Chancers Dante (9-7) at Musselburgh 3m hcp chs 0-95 (5) gd in Feb.
Panmure (IRE) 4-1 (10-11) In touch, pushed along and outpaced 4 out, 4th of 6, 19l behind Alfy Rich (10-10) at Hexham 2m 4f hcp chs 0-110 (E) gf in Oct.
Cedar Rapids (IRE) 9-1 (11-0) Tracked leader, led 6th, clear 8th, jumped left from 10th, headed and jumped badly left 12th, weakened next and pulled up 3 out in race won by Clouding Over (10-7) at Huntingdon 2m 4f nov chs (4) gd in Mar, 5 ran.
Now Then Sid 11-4jt-fav (10-3) Held up, driven along 9th, headway approaching 4 out, ridden to lead after 2 out, ridden clear flat, won at Sedgefield 2m 5f hcp chs 0-110 (E) gf in Sept beating Billie John (11-9) by 9l, 11 ran.
The Miner 15-2 (10-2) Prominent, hampered 4 out, soon beaten, 7th of 12, 35l behind Little Flora (9-9) at Kelso 2m 1f hcp chs 0-110 (4) sft.
Assumetheposition (FR) 9-1 (11-1) Jumped left throughout, led 5th, ridden 3 out, headed flat, no extra, 3rd of 11, 4l behind Mikasa (10-7) at Carlisle 2m 4f nov hcp chs 0-100 (4) sft.
Primitive Way 5-1 (10-8) Chased leaders, effort 2 out, stayed on strongly to lead flat, kept on, won at Kelso 3m 1f hcp chs 0-105 (E) gs in Oct beating Pessimistic Dick (9-13) by 1l, 10 ran.
Rifleman (IRE) 25-1 (11-2) In touch, headway 8th, outpaced after 5 out, 5th of 15, 44l behind Mr Prickle (10-12) at Newcastle 2m 4f hcp chs 0-100 (4) sft in Feb.
