prominent to 6th, weakened quickly
held up, mistake 7th, soon weakened, pulled up before last
held up, hit 6th, fell next
mid-division, headway 7th, ridden 2 out, weakened last
with leader, led 6th, ridden and headed 2 out, weakened towards finish
mid-division, headway 7th, ridden 2 out, weakened last
mid-division, ridden 6th, soon weakened
behind, kept on under pressure from 2 out, never nearer
behind, ridden and headway 2 out, ran on flat, no chance with winner
in touch, ridden and every chance, when not fluent 3 out, soon one pace
chased leaders to 7th, behind when pulled up before last
An open contest with the field headed by Little Tobias, and although he has been done no favours by the raising of the weights, he could still prove too strong for the likes of Afadan and Tiyani. Andy Turnell's four-year-old lacks the experience of the majority of his rivals, but the same could have been said about his fourth last time to Xellance, with Ei Ei just three-lengths and one place ahead of him in third. He can run off the same mark here and with the added bonus of Vinnie Keane taking a further 3lbs off his back, he looks the one to be with. Afadan has struggled somewhat since getting off the mark as a juvenile, but he is beginning to slip down the weights as the Handicapper is easing his grip. The forecast rain is in his favour and he has definite place claims. Tianyi has been running well in small fields on the fast ground and probably wouldn't want too much rain, while it would be no surprise to see the likes of Rio Real run well, given the form of his stable which has a 21% strike rate with its hurdlers this year. Rayware Boy missed an easier race at Fakenham in the week due to the ground and even though he is nothing more than a plater, he is decent nick at present. However, in the hope that Little Tobias is open to improvement, he could well be a step ahead of the handicapper.
