prominent, led approaching 2 outl, shaken up approaching last, quicken clear, easily
held up last, headway approaching 3 out, soon ridden, challenged approaching 2 out, not quicken
jumped left and unseated rider 1st
in touch, headway after 5th, ridden and weakened 3 out
towards rear, headway 5th, ridden and weakened 3 out
mid-division, ridden and headway 6th, weakened 3 out
mid-division, headway 5th, challenged approaching 3 out, weakened approaching 2 out
in touch, lost touch 4th, behind 5th, tailed off
mid-division, ridden and weakened 3 out
led, not fluent 5th, ridden and headed approaching 2 out, soon weakened
chased leader, ridden and weakened 3 out
This looks to be the stronger of the two divisions and it's complicated by the presence of three Pipe horses with there being nothing that can be read into jockey bookings. AACHEN is the tentative suggestion with Bruslini, Big Eared Fran and Cricket Boy all seriously considered. Bruslini has arguably been disappointing given the market support that he's attracted on his two starts and he could do with settling and jumping better. However, he bumped into a good one last time (trained by Pipe) and has to be on the short-list. Big Eared Fran was quite well fancied heading into the Cheltenham bumper last year and was in the process of running a fair race when falling on his reappearance. He comes here on the back of a nice, confidence boosting run over two and a half miles at this track. Cricket Boy showed promise in junior bumpers and this first foal of Lady Cricket appears to have inherited plenty of his mother's talent. Like the two aforementioned runners, he has entries for Cheltenham. So too does the selection who was placed in a two mile Listed race for Andre Fabre. That raises concerns about the suitability of the trip but his entry in the Supreme Novices' suggests that connections believe that he isn't short of speed. Seefin Mountain, Hey Big Spender and Good Man Jack have shown enough to be considered for place purposes but it would be surprising if they were good enough to win what appears to be a fair race. We'll be hoping that that honour goes to Aachen.
Aachen (9-1) Always prominent, ridden over 1f out, stayed on final furlong to lead close home, won at Chantilly 1m 4f in Oct beating Sassoaloro (8-11) by a hd, 5 ran (Flat).
Big Eared Fran (IRE) 6-1 (11-3) Mid-division, headway to lead 3 out, soon ridden, headed approaching 2 out, mistake last, weakened flat, 4th of 14, 16l behind Chariot Charger (11-9) at Taunton 2m 3f nh nov hdl (3) gs in Jan.
Blind Faith (IRE) 50-1 (10-12) Mid-division after 6f, weakened 5f out, tailed off, 13th of 15, well behind Time For Rupert (10-12) at Ludlow 2m nhf (5) gd in Apr.
Cricket Boy 7-2fav (10-12) In touch, ridden and slightly outpaced 5 out, headway over 2f out, close up over 1f out, kept on, 3rd of 15, 1 1/2l behind Lord Generous (10-12) at Cheltenham 1m 4f nhf lst (1) gs in Jan '08.
Danetime Panther (IRE) 25-1 (10-12) Tracked leaders, ridden approaching 3 out, weakened before 2 out, 9th of 18, 46l behind Fushe Jo (10-12) at Doncaster 2m nov hdl (4) sft in Jan.
Good Man Jack (IRE) 33-1 (11-6) Mid-division, headway 6th, weakened approaching 2 out, 5th of 14, 21l behind Chariot Charger (11-9) at Taunton 2m 3f nh nov hdl (3) gs in Jan.
Hey Big Spender (IRE) 9-1 (11-4) Pulled early in mid-division, ridden and chased, leader after 3 out, weakened after 2 out, 3rd of 11, 14l behind Pepite De Soleil (10-9) at Wincanton 2m nh nov hdl (4) gs in Jan.
Simply Brave (IRE) 66-1 (10-11) No comments due to poor visibility, last of 21, well behind The Last Derby (11-2) at Fairyhouse 2m 4yo nov hdl sft in Nov.
Hobb's Dream (IRE) 100-1 (10-11) In rear, lost touch 6th, tailed off when pulled up at the last in race won by Den of Iniquity (11-4) at Folkestone 2m 1f nov hdl (4) hvy in Jan, 12 ran.
Bruslini (FR) 2-1fav (10-12) Led, not fluent 3rd, blundered 6th, ridden 2 out, headed approaching last, faded, 2nd of 12, 5l behind Torphichen (10-9) at Ludlow 2m 4yo nov hdl (4) sft in Jan.
Rio Laine 50-1 (10-12) Always behind, weakened before 3 out, tailed off, 7th of 10, well behind Optimus Maximus (10-12) at Newbury 2m 4yo nov hdl (4) sft in Jan.
Heroes 66-1 (11-0) Led until 5th, lost place before 3 out, last of 9, well behind Songe (11-8) at Huntingdon 2m 4yo nov hdl (2) gs.
Nahanni King (IRE) (12-0) fell 2 out in race won by Hilltop Castle (12-0) at Tyrella 3m ire ptp gs in Feb '08, 10 ran.
Seefin Mountain (IRE) 25-1 (10-12) Prominent, chased leader 3 out, soon ridden, kept on same pace, 2nd of 13, 4l behind King's Forest (10-9) at Taunton 2m 1f nov hdl (3) gs in Dec.
