led 2nd, ridden approaching 3 out, headed when weakening soon after
in touch, good headway to tracked leaders 6th, ridden to chase leaders 2 out, kept on to take 2nd after last
mid-division, took closer order 3rd, ridden approaching 5th, soon weakened
mid-division, took closer order 4th, ridden to chase leaders 3 out, beaten when mistake 2 out
led, headed approaching 3nd, stayed prominent until ridden and weakened from 2 out
always towards rear, ridden from 5th
towards rear, held up, headway after 4th to go in touch, ridden to lead approaching 2 out, ran on well
soon well behind, pulled up after 4th
mid-division, ridden approaching 5th, soon behind
held up mid-division, headway 5th, chased winner from 2 out, u.pand hung left soon after, lost 2nd flat
towards rear when blundered badly 3rd, pulled up soon after 4th
in touch, headway apr 5th to track leaders, ridden 3 out, every chance 2 out, weakened approaching last
in touch to 3rd, soon well behind
towards rear, some headway approaching 5th, ridden and weakening when jumped right 4 out
steady headway approaching 5th, ridden and weakened approaching 3 out
Among the 18 who stand their ground for this novices' hurdle are some useful flat recruits, including Ian Balding's Dumaran (rated in the 90s on the level) who missed an engagement last week, Francois Doumen's German-bred gelding Peppercorn - a winner on the flat in his native country, Toby Balding's useful Bomb Alaska and French flat race winner Self Defense who is now trained by Emma Lavelle. Add to those the likes of Nicky Henderson's Kempton bumper winner Cappadrummin, Mark Pitman's Knowhow who finished third in that same contest and the Paul Nicholls-trained Sud Bleu, a winner at Exeter and not disgraced behind Dermot Weld's Mutakarrim at Cheltenham's Open meeting subsequently, and this looks a potentially informative contest. However, the one that really takes the eye and gets the TEAMtalk vote is Guillaume Macaire's Kefir D'Angron. The French-based handler has done well with his forays across the English Channel in recent seasons and, with the son of Panoramic having already shown plenty of ability in winning four times in France, the four-year-old should be well up to the task of beating some less experienced types here.
