held up in rear, not fluent 4th, headway after 7th, went 2nd briefly soon after until before next, soon weakened
led until after 2nd, chased leader until 7th, soon lost place, struggling after and eased, tailed off
chased leaders, weakened under pressure before 4 out, tailed off
led after 2nd, not fluent 5th, ridden and headed 2 out, no chance with winner soon after
took keen hold, held up in rear, headway travelling well to track leaders 3 out, hit 2 out, soon ridden and found nil, hit last, finished tired
tracked leaders, went 2nd 7th to before 4 out, regained 2nd 3 out, led on outer 2 out, clear between last 2, eased flat
Dover's Hill has shown gradual improvement in bumpers and now over hurdles and Mary Hambro's gelding has to be respected but he may have to settle for minor honours as TASHEBA looks to have been found a suitable opportunity to open his account and gets the verdict with Whispering Death rated the best of the rest. The selection showed progressive form on the level for Peter Chapple-Hyam and made a promising start to his hurdling career for Nicky Henderson when finding just Silk Hall too good in a novices' hurdle at Newbury last month. Any further improvement from that outing will make the four-year-old hard to beat. The opposition looks pretty moderate with Dontsayathing having not gone on from a promising start in a bumper on his debut and Henrietta Knight's Bertenbar having been well held in all four starts so far. Bankstair has given no sign of encouragement from his four outings and of more interest is Whispering Death. Capable on his day on the level for Willie Haggas, this thorough stayer ran much better last time over timber when a close second to Dancing Dik at Wetherby earlier this month and Howard Johnson's gelding has solid claims on that evidence. Tasheba is less exposed though and Nicky Henderson's gelding looks the one that they all have to beat.
Bankstair (FR) 16-1 (11-1) Tracked leader until weakened after 3 out, 6th of 7, 34l behind Dreamy Sweeney (11-1) at Kempton 2m 5f mdn hdl (5) gd.
Bertenbar 40-1 (11-2) Held up and keen, outpaced 7th, tailed off 3 out, 7th of 12, well behind Phoudamour (11-9) at Market Rasen 2m 3f nh nov hdl (4) sft.
Dontsayathing (IRE) 50-1 (10-12) Mid-division, ridden 6th, weakened 3 out, 9th of 13, well behind Qozak (11-9) at Taunton 2m 3f nh nov hdl (3) sft in Feb.
Dover's Hill 10-3 (11-3) Tracked leader, ridden and one pace from 3 out, 2nd of 14, 14l behind Jokers Legacy (11-3) at Southwell 3m mdn hdl (4) gd.
Whispering Death 9-2 (11-2) Tracked leaders, led after 4 out, ridden approaching 2 out, headed post, 2nd of 13, ns behind Dancing Dik (10-2) at Wetherby 2m 4f mdn hdl (5) gd.
Tasheba 10-3 (10-12) Chased leaders, chased winner from 2 out, no impression, kept on for well held 2nd, 2nd of 15, 14l behind Silk Hall (10-12) at Newbury 2m 4yo nov hdl (4) gd in Feb.
