held up towards rear, driven and weakened approaching 3 out
in touch, ridden approaching 3 out, stayed on same pace from 2 out
held up towards rear, headway approaching 5th, ridden after 2 out, 4th and no impression when not fluent last
held up, headway after 3 out, went 2nd 2 out, every chance when not fluent last, not quicken run-in
chased clear leader, ridden 2 out, weakened approaching last
made all, strongly pressed approaching last, ridden and ran on well run-in
took keen hold in rear, blundered 5th, weakening when not fluent 3 out, no chance when mistake last
held up in touch, lost place 3rd, ridden and weakened approaching 3 out
mid-division, headway approaching 5th, ridden when mistake 2 out, soon weakened
Nanga Parbat did us a favour last time and and can do so again at the expense of Into The Shadows, Motorway and Albarino. Nanga Parbat probably found the ground too soft when third to the useful Admiral at Chepstow the time before last, but made amends in fine style at Wincanton next time, bolting up from Pirandello under Liam Heard. He is very much on the upgrade at present and must be followed to defy a seven-pound rise in the weights. Into The Shadows is expected to give him most to do on the back of a facile win at Huntingdon, also coincidentally over Pirandello. On a line through that horse, there really should not be too much between the two main protagonists today, but we just wonder whether Keith Reveley's mare has much improvement in her. Motorway won a maiden hurdle at Cheltenham well enough so cannot be left out of calculations entirely, while Albarino went into plenty of notebooks after an effortless success at Wincanton. It would be no surprise if any of those mentioned were to prevail, but Nanga Parbat is the one that is saddled with the vote.
Grave Doubts 13-2 (11-11) Always in rear, 9th of 12, 38l behind Croix De Guerre (11-11) at Stratford 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-135 (C) gd in Oct.
Pepe Galvez (SWE) 9-1 (11-9) Held up, headway 3 out, badly hampered next, kept on from last, 3rd of 13, 2 1/2l behind Brooklyn Breeze (11-6) at Aintree 2m hcp hdl 0-130 (C) gs in Oct.
Nanga Parbat (FR) 5-1 (11-5) Held up last, headway on bit from 3 out, ridden and hit 2 out, led last, ran on well flat, won at Wincanton 2m hcp hdl 0-110 (E) gd in Oct beating Pirandello (11-10) by 2 1/2l, 14 ran.
Prairie Moonlight (GER) 5-1 (10-2) Held up, headway to chase leaders approaching 3 out, ridden and every chance approaching last, one pace, 2nd of 7, 2 1/2l behind Mags Benefit (9-9) at Ayr 2m mrs hcp hdl (B) gd in Apr.
Into The Shadows 13-8fav (10-13) Held up, headway after 4 out, mistake 3 out, led next, soon in command, eased near finish, won at Huntingdon 2m hcp hdl 0-115 (D) gs beating Pirandello (11-10) by 5l, 9 ran.
Motorway (IRE) 9-2 (11-2) Held up, steady headway from 3 out, chased leading pair before last, driven ahead final 100 yards, won at Cheltenham 2m mdn hdl (D) gd in Oct beating Desert Quest (11-2) by 1/2l, 11 ran.
Albarino (IRE) 13-2 (11-9) Held up, steady headway on bit after 3 out, confidentely ridden and shaken up to lead last, ran on, won at Wincanton 2m cnd nov hcp hdl (E) gd beating Nagano (10-11) by 1 1/2l, 9 ran.
Theocritus (GER) 5-6fav (10-10) Tracked leaders, ridden after 3 out, led last, stayed on, won at Haydock 2m hcp hdl 0-120 (D) sft beating Top Style (11-2) by 5l, 5 ran.
Maclean 9-1 (11-5) Held up mid-division, headway 4 out, ridden, weakened approaching 2 out, 12th of 17, well behind Gallant Approach (10-12) at Huntingdon 2m nov hdl (E) gs.
