chased leaders, ridden and outpaced after 3 out, stayed on again flat
chased leaders, driven along after 8th, weakened quickly before 4 out, tailed off
mid-division, headway 8th, weakened under pressure soon after 3 out
held up in rear, good headway to track leading pair after 3 out, narrow lead 2 out, driven and kept on well flat, until caught final strides
always behind, ridden 7th, soon struggling, tailed off 4 out
chased leaders, ridden and weakened quickly before 4 out, tailed off and pulled up before 2 out
held up in rear, headway into 5th approaching 4 out, driven after 3 out, soon weakened
held up and mid-division, good headway to track leader 4 out, narrow lead 3 out, headed 2 out, stayed on same pace flat
raced wide, always towards rear, ridden and struggling before 4 out, tailed off
in touch, short lived effort approaching 4 out, weakened quickly next, tailed off
led, narrowly headed 3 out, stayed challenging, 3rd and looked beaten when mistake 2 out, rallied well final 100 yards to regain lead final strides
BARNHILL BROWNIE's form looks solid and he is preferred here ahead of Dont Tell The Wife and Sashenka. With Nicky Henderson, Philip Hobbs, Andy Turnell and Tim Vaughan all in good form and holding live chances here, this looks a complicated puzzle to solve. The selection Barnhill Brownie has been given a three month break since a hard-fought success at the track where he saw off Theatrical Moment. That runner may have franked the form on Thursday afternoon at Towcester and this unexposed son of Presenting can take this race under his good jockey before going onto better things over fences next season. Laborec disappointed when last seen and now tries a tongue-tie for the first time, whilst Sashenka has been running well in lesser company but her improvement may not be finished yet and she gets plenty of weight from her main rivals. Thunder Rock has become disappointing to follow since a Bangor win in September and he needs to prove that this 2lb drop in the weights is enough to see him competitive. Cathedral Rock has ability but is not straightforward, To Arms is unexposed and returns from a break on this first start for Tim Vaughan, whilst Dont Tell The Wife is a potential improver still and the feeling is that a 7lb rise in the weights may not be enough to stop him running a very big race. A tricky handicap then but it is Barnhill Brownie who is taken to win again.
Swordsman (GER) 150-1 (10-0) Chased leaders until 5th, soon behind, 25th of 27, well behind Ninetieth Minute (10-3) at Cheltenham 2m 5f hcp hdl G3 (1) gs.
Cathedral Rock (IRE) 8-1 (11-13) Chased leader to 3 out, stayed well there under pressure until weakened before last, 5th of 20, 10l behind Gala Evening (10-12) at Newbury 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gd in Feb.
Barnhill Brownie (IRE) 6-1 (11-12) Led until after 1st, prominent, not fluent 4 out, led next, ridden and edged right approaching last, hard pressed flat, just held on, all out, won at Ascot 3m nov hcp hdl 0-120 (3) gs in Dec beating Theatrical Moment (11-2) by ns, 16 ran.
To Arms 16-1 (10-1) Held up, headway 3 out, driven and weakened approaching last, 7th of 15, 25l behind Fair Along (10-13) at Cheltenham 3m 1f Listed hcp hdl (1) sft in Nov.
Tora Bora (GER) 100-1 (10-9) Held up towards rear, pushed along after 9th, struggling 13th, tailed off when pulled up before 15th, in a race won by Jass (10-7) at Doncaster 4m hcp chs 0-140 (2) gs in Jan, 19 ran.
Stripe Me Blue 5-1 (10-9) Chased leaders, weakened approaching 2 out, 6th of 9, 39l behind Georgian King (11-2) at Doncaster 3m hcp hdl 0-140 (2) gf in Feb.
Thunder Rock (IRE) 11-1 (11-6) Tracked leaders, mistake when weakening 3 out, 8th of 10, 16l behind Brenin Cwmtudu (10-2) at Chepstow 3m hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gs in Nov.
Shannon Springs (IRE) 10-1 (10-5) Held up in rear, ridden and struggling after 3 out, 6th of 12, 19l behind Earth Dream (9-12) at Kempton 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gd.
Dont Tell The Wife (IRE) 5-1jt-fav (10-11) Chased leaders, driven and went 2nd on outside before 2 out, upsides when went right and bumped last, led soon after, hard driven flat, held on, all out, won at Sandown 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-120 (3) gs beating Gala Evening (11-9) by a nk,.
