prominent, ridden approaching 3 out, weakened 2 out
mid-division, headway approaching 5th, mistake and weakened 6th, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out
led, ridden and not fluent 3 out, headed briefly flat, ran on
prominent until mistake 4th, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out
prominent and pulled hard, hit 3rd, weakened after 6th, soon tailed off
in touch, ridden after 6th, weakened approaching 3 out
behind, headway after 6th, ridden to lead briefly and edged right flat, not quicken
held up, ridden and headway after 6th, one pace from 2 out
prominent, jumped slowly 5th, ridden 3 out, weakened flat
behind, headway 6th, ridden and jumped right 3 out, one pace from 2 out
David Pipe's Lambriggan Lad has to be of interest after just one start over hurdles with the yard in such good form now but the four-year-old gave little cause for optimism on his hurdling debut and is probably best watched so preference is for City of Manchester, who gets the vote ahead of This Is It. The selection does have a penalty to carry for his win in similar grade at Market Rasen last term but has at least won a race and ran well under a penalty last time so may be able to give weight away all round. Karakorum Highway was better than most of these on the flat and may well improve on what he showed first time out over hurdles but needs to, while Itcanbedone Again has seen his form tail off recently on the level and is probably best watched. This Is It has not shown much so far but any Irish raider is worth a second look, especially in this grade, so he cannot be discounted but City Of Manchester has solid claims and he gets the vote.
City of Manchester (IRE) 10-3 (11-2) Prominent, led approaching 3 out, ridden 2 out, headed approaching last, one pace, 2nd of 10, 5l behind Weet A Head (10-10) at Uttoxeter 2m sll hdl (5) gs.
Itcanbedone Again (IRE) 7-1 (10-2) In touch, ridden 5th, weakened after 3 out, 10th of 14, 33l behind Miss Lehman (10-8) at Stratford 2m sll hdl (G) gd.
Karakorum Highway 15-2 (11-0) Led to after 1st, tracked leader, hit 3rd, effort 3 out, ridden and no impression from next, 5th of 8, 26l behind Allaboveboard (10-12) at Perth 2m clm hdl (5) sft in Sept.
Lambriggan Lad 40-1 (10-11) Unruly, unseated rider and got loose before start, mistake 6th, always behind, tailed off, 8th of 11, well behind Key Phil (10-2) at Worcester 2m 4f nov hdl (4) gd in Sept.
Stagnite 7-1 (9-6) Led, driven 2f out, headed over 1f out, weakened final furlong, 9th of 15, 6l behind Mountain Pass (9-6) at Brighton 7f sll (6) gf in Aug (Flat).
Heathyards Joy 8-1 (7-11) In rear, ridden and some headway approaching 2f out, never dangerous, 5th of 8, 6l behind Seattle Robber (9-2) at Brighton 1m 2f app hcp (6) frm in Jun (Flat).
This Is It (IRE) 20-1 (10-8) Behind, headway to moderate 5th after 3 out, never a danger, 5th of 10, 34l behind Miss Ailbhe (11-2) at Downpatrick 2m 2f mrs mdn hdl gs in Aug.
Think of The Money 33-1 (10-7) Set slow pace, headed after 4f, remained close up until ridden and weakened 2f out, last of 6, 20l behind Bajan Sunshine (11-0) at Worcester 2m nhf (6) gs in Sept.
