held up towards rear, not fluent 1st, headway approaching 2 out, stayed on from last
prominent, led last, kept on well, driven out
held up towards rear, in touch approaching 3 out, weakened approaching last
led, headed last, no extra flat
held up towards rear, headway top of straight 3f out, jumped left 2 out, kept on to take 2nd towards finish, no chance with winner
close up, ridden after 3 out, soon weakened
tracked leaders, weakened approaching last
tracked leaders in 4th, went 2nd from 4th, weakened approaching 2 out
held up towards rear, soon in rear, pushed along and outpaced before 2 out
in touch and keen,challenged 2 out, chased winner after last until no extra towards finish
Nonrunner
Mick Easterby's Hurlingham may do better now running in a handicap for the first time having been largely disappointing in previous starts in novice hurdles and any market support for him would have to be noted but a better bet looks to be LETTERPRESS, who gets the vote over Oleolat. The William Amos-trained gelding has been running well without really threatening of late on ground similarly testing to this and he has been given a chance by the handicapper having been dropped 2lbs since his most recent start. Bulas Boy is relatively lightly raced but remains a maiden after eight starts and has yet to even be placed so of more interest may be Ben Haslam's Hi Dancer, who has shown some promise in recent starts. Royal Flynn ran well when a close second behind Shadrack at Catterick in January but he has failed to reproduce a similar level of form in two starts since then and a better bet looks to be Letterpress. Howard Johnson's gelding won well on his hurdling debut on heavy ground at Hexham in November 2008 and has only had one start since then when a well held ninth of 10 to finish at Sedgefield but he has been given a good break since then and looks worth supporting on his return to action, especially with the yard among the winners.
Long Distance (FR) 33-1 (11-3) Chased winner to 6th, weakened 3 out, tailed off, last of 8, well behind Karky Schultz (11-9) at Uttoxeter 2m nov hcp hdl 0-125 (3) hvy in Jan.
Hi Dancer 13-2 (10-12) Held up towards rear, mistake 4 out, headway approaching 2 out, one pace, 5th of 17, 11l behind Share Option (10-2) at Doncaster 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-120 (3) gs in Feb.
Hurlingham 40-1 (11-4) Held up, 6th and outpaced when hit 3 out, soon weakened, 6th of 10, well behind Benny Be Good (11-4) at Sedgefield 2m 4f nh nov hdl (4) hvy in Feb.
Painted Sky 8-1 (10-13) Held up towards rear, took keen hold, lost touch approaching 3 out, tailed off, 6th of 8, well behind Glebehall Bay (10-9) at Uttoxeter 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-105 (4) hvy in Feb.
Nevsky Bridge 16-1 (11-0) Held up, in rear, ridden and weakened approaching 3 out, last of 9, well behind Raysrock (11-12) at Ayr 2m hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gd in Feb.
Oleolat (FR) 7-1 (10-9) In touch, no impression from after 4 out, 4th of 7, 12l behind Et Maintenant (11-9) at Ayr 2m hcp chs 0-115 (4) sft in Mar '09.
Letterpress (IRE) 6-1 (11-11) Tracked leaders, outpaced 3 out, soon weakened, 9th of 11, well behind Fiendish Flame (11-4) at Sedgefield 2m 1f nov hdl (4) sft in Jan '09.
Domino Dancer (IRE) 14-1 (10-9) Took keen hold, tracked winner until hit 4th, ridden after next, lost place 6th, soon struggling, 7th of 10, 20l behind King's Counsel (10-4) at Catterick 2m hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gs in Feb.
Royal Flynn 13-2 (9-12) Held up in rear, headway when mistake 6th, weakened approaching 2 out, 6th of 10, 18l behind King's Counsel (10-4) at Catterick 2m hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gs in Feb.
Montiyra (IRE) 20-1 (11-9) Mid-division, headway to track leaders after 5th, ridden 3 out, kept on flat to take 2nd near finish, 2nd of 10, 31l behind Nous Voila (11-3) at Fakenham 2m sell hcp hdl 0-90 (5) sft in Feb.
Bulas Boy 15-2 (9-9) Pulled hard, mid-division when stumbled and unseated rider bend before 2nd, in a race won by Karmadice (11-9) at Sedgefield 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gd in Mar '09, 12 ran.
Switched Off 9-1 (10-5) Held up, struggling 7th, weakened 3 out, 8th of 9, well behind King Fontaine (11-5) at Market Rasen 2m 3f nov hdl (4) sft in Dec.
