always behind, no chance and eased 2 out, tailed off
made all, drew clear from 3 out, easily
mid-division, headway 4 out, effort before 2 out, soon edged left, no impression approaching last
chased leaders, effort approaching 2 out, soon no impression
always behind, tailed off when pulled up before 2 out
behind, ridden 4 out, never dangerous
held up mid-division, headway 3 out, chased winner before next, kept on, no impression
chased winner before 2 out, weakened before last
chased leaders, ridden 4 out, weakened next
chased leaders, outpaced approaching 3 out, soon no impression
held up, ridden 3 out, never on terms
ROUGE ET BLANC is preferred here to Hazeldene, Give Us A Gander and Alan's Legacy. This looks a good piece of placing by Oliver Sherwood who only brings his horses North when they have an excellent chance of winning. The selection is a French import who only found Trenchant too good form him on his UK debut at Warwick. The addition of a tongue-tie may help him see out his races better and he will be hard to beat assuming he handles this quicker ground. Alan's Legacy is well-related but so far he is yet to live up to expectations on the racetrack. However his stable are in good form and it would be unwise to rule him out after just three starts. Hazeldene was well-fancied last time at Kelso but was unfortunate to bump into a well-handicapped rival in Annibale Caro. Having said that there were another three horses in-front of him that day and he is now winless in nine starts so is readily passed over. Give Us A Gander makes his hurdling debut this afternoon having contested some decent bumpers last year; despite plenty of stamina in his own pedigree suggesting he may need a longer trip, it is worth bearing in mind that he is related to several flat winners over a mile. National Heritage and Special Flight are open to improvement, as the latter's last run reads fairly well and the former is making his hurdling bow today. Patriot is another for consideration given his good run in defeat a month ago. This looks a good bit of placing by Oliver Sherwood and we are happy to side with Rouge Et Blanc.
Give Us A Gander 5-1 (11-2) Held up in rear, driven over 3f out, never on terms, 10th of 14, 21l behind Solway Sam (10-11) at Ayr 2m NH flat (6) gs in Nov.
Hazeldene 9-2fav (11-5) Led, ridden 2 out, headed flat and soon weakened, 5th of 13, 7l behind Annibale Caro (10-1) at Kelso 2m hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gd.
Patriot (IRE) 5-1 (10-11) Mid-division, went 2nd over 2f out, kept on but no chance with winner, 2nd of 8, 10l behind Mister Wall Street (10-9) at Haydock 2m nhf (5) gd in Mar.
Prince Tam 28-1 (10-9) Tracked leaders, not fluent when outpaced 2 out, 3rd of 5, 9l behind Woody Waller (11-0) at Ayr 2m nh nov hdl (4) sft in Mar.
Ravensbill (IRE) 200-1 (11-1) Chased leaders to 3rd, soon behind, 10th of 11, well behind Sir Tantallus Hawk (11-8) at Newcastle 2m nh nov hdl (4) gd in Mar.
Rolecarr (IRE) 22-1 (11-0) Held up mid-division, weakened after 3 out, 5th of 11, 23l behind Numero Due (11-0) at Sedgefield 2m 1f mdn hdl (4) gf in Sep.
Solway Blue 66-1 (10-9) Always behind, tailed off when pulled up before 2 out, in a race won by Quincy Des Pictons (11-0) at Perth 2m 4f mdn hdl (4) gd, 13 ran.
Special Flight (IRE) 66-1 (10-13) Mid-division, ridden 3 out soon one pace, 3rd of 11, 21l behind Doeslessthanme (11-13) at Kelso 2m 2f nh nov hdl (4) gd.
Highland Patriot 14-1 (10-7) Led 1f, remained with leaders, led 9f out, edged left and headed over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 6th of 9, 20l behind Topsham Belle (10-4) at Huntingdon 2m NH flat (6) gf.
National Heritage 14-1 (10-10) Held up towars rear, headway over 4f out, soon chasing leaders, kept on same pace, 3rd of 13, 3 1/2l behind Caerlaverock (10-10) at Wetherby 2m NH flat (6) gd in Mar.
Auberge (IRE) 50-1 (10-3) In rear, behind from 3 out, 6th of 8, well behind Caravel (11-12) at Sedgefield 2m 1f nh nov hdl (4) gf.
Alan's Legacy (IRE) 28-1 (11-2) Chased leaders, weakened approaching 3 out, 7th of 10, 36l behind Quwetwo (11-8) at Ayr 2m nh nov hdl (4) sft in Feb.
Cabbyl Doo 40-1 (10-10) Mid-division, headway after 7f, weakened 3f out, 10th of 14, 16l behind Fresh Air And Fun (10-13) at Worcester 2m mdn NH flat (6) gd in May '07.
Rouge Et Blanc (FR) 7-2 (11-0) Led, headed after 2nd, chased leader, led approaching 2 out, ridden between last 2, headed last stride, 2nd of 8, nk behind Trenchant (11-0) at Warwick 2m 4yo mdn hdl (4) hvy in Jan.
Amulree 200-1 (10-8) Always behind, tailed off 3 out, 13th of 16, well behind Steady Tiger (11-4) at Newcastle 2m nh nov hdl (4) hvy in Jan.
Miss Toozy Betsy (IRE) 11-1 (10-4) Behind, ridden over 3f out, soon outpaced, 6th of 9, 20l behind Bygones Of Brid (11-4) at Ayr 2m NH flat (6) hvy in Dec.
