held up, left 3rd at 3rd, chased clear leader after 3 out, kept on one pace, no chance with winner
soon prominent, chased winner 3rd, blundered 4th, hit 5th, weakened 3 out, went badly left and mistake 2 out, very tired when blundered last
chased winner, hampered 3rd, soon no chance, tailed off
prominent, led 2nd, clear 5th, unchallenged
led to 2nd, fell 3rd
always behind, soon tailed off, pulled up after 3 out
PEPITE DE SOLEIL and Arrayan are the two to concentrate on here with the Nicholls runner getting the token vote; Secret Dancer may be next best. Two of the South West's leading yards go head to head here and it's arguably the yard of Hobbs that has been in better form of late with the Nicholls team suffering some high-profile reverses. Pepite De Soleil won her sole start over hurdles at Auteuil in good fashion and has already been granted a Grade 1 entry so has presumably been showing up well on the gallops. Arrayan is another French import but he has yet to try his hand over hurdles. He looks the part on paper and it will be interesting to see what the market makes of his chances. It's difficult to get excited about the remainder but one of them will have to fill third place or perhaps even gain second place prize money if a mishap befalls one of the two leading players. Secret Dancer was a fair sort on the level for James Fanshawe and could be the one to chase them home. Pepite De Soleil is taken to provide us with a winning start.
Anay Turge (FR) Turgeon gelding out of Anayette.
Arrayan (9-2) 4th of 8, 11l behind Safety Wire (9-2) at Vichy 1m 4f 3yo stk in Jul (Flat).
Dr Kildare 12-1 (9-10) Dwelt, mid-division best, no impression from 2f out, 15th of 21, 23l behind Gunga Din (9-12) at Curragh 7f hcp 0-75 hvy in Oct (Flat).
Keepholdin (IRE) 200-1 (10-12) Tracked leaders, ridden and weakened after 3 out, 12th of 14, well behind Akarshan (11-2) at Hereford 2m 1f 3yo nov hdl (4) gd in Nov.
Pepite De Soleil (FR) 33-1 (10-1) Tracked leader, led 2 out, ran on strongly, won at Auteuil 2m 2f hdl fills lst hvy in Sept beating Miss Sarenne (10-1) by 5l, 14 ran (Flat).
Slayer 100-1 (10-12) Tailed off from 4th, last of 14, well behind Akarshan (11-2) at Hereford 2m 1f 3yo nov hdl (4) gd in Nov.
Soviet Cat (IRE) 12-1 (9-3) Reared badly leaving stalls, behind, driven and reluctant from over 2f out, 5th of 6, 17l behind Triumphant Welcome (8-10) at Goodwood 6f mdn aut stk (5) gs in Aug (Flat).
Poppy Red 150-1 (8-12) Steadied start, always behind, tailed off final 3f, last of 12, well behind Surrealism (8-12) at Bath 1m 2f mdn fll (5) gs in Oct (Flat).
Secret Dancer (IRE) 20-1 (8-10) Held up in rear, pushed along 3f out, ridden and headway when slightly hampered over 1f out, kept on final furlong, 6th of 12, 4 1/2l behind Electrolyser (9-0) at Leicester 1m 4f 3yo hcp (2) sft in Oct (Flat).
