held up last, lost place 10th, soon tailed off
chased leader, led on bit 12th, ridden 4 out, headed approaching 3 out, rallied 2 out, led last, driven out
led, mistake 12th and headed, soon weakened
held up in mid-division, ridden and headway 13th, mistake 4 out, stayed on one pace
prominent, headway and challenged 13th, led going well approaching 3 out, soon ridden, mistake last and headed, not recover flat
Ruby Gale gets a narrow vote here over Tucacas in the mares' only novices' chase. The selection attracted money over course and distance last time and was just touched off by One Nation after a good struggle. She should be more at home here, although Tucacas will not be an easy opponent to see off. The Martin Pipe-trained seven-year-old was a decent hurdler and got off the mark over the larger obstacles at the second time of asking in a similar event at Exeter last time. The slightly longer trip should pose her no problems and she holds solid claims in this event. While Long Walk's third at Huntingdon was slightly disappointing last time, she is the type to progress with racing. El Blade and Mulligatawny are both well up to winning their novice event, while No Sam No has already won a maiden chase. However, Ruby Gale and Tucacas look the two to focus on here, with the former just getting the nod.
