with leaders when badly hampered and nearly unseated 1st, tracked winner until ridden 4 out, soon lost ground, behind when jumped left 2 out
with leaders when hampered and unseated rider 1st
tracked leaders when hampered 1st, close up in 3rd, went 2nd 4 out, ridden next, kept on one pace
left in lead soon after 1st, made rest, jumped left 8th, ridden out
led when jumped left, bumped rival and unseated 1st
Truckers Highway won on good ground at Worcester in October but hasn’t figured in a couple of subsequent starts while Whitsundays landed a double early this year but hasn’t raced since tailed off at Market Rasen in May. UNO VALOROSO (NAP) returned to action over hurdles at Hexham last month when running out of steam in the closing stages. Mark Walford’s charge should be sharper today and, given he’s only 4lb higher than when scoring over fences at Newcastle earlier this year, he gets the nod. Whispering Harry and Akula continue to struggle and are probably best watched for now.
Truckers Highway (IRE) 9-2 (10-13) Led, fell 3rd, at Ludlow 2m hcp (3) gs in Nov.
Whispering Harry 25-1 (10-2) Tracked leaders, bumped 1st, not fluent and lost place 7th, hit next, weakened before 3 out, last of 7, dist behind Starchitect (11-12) at Stratford 2m 3f hcp (3) gd in Nov.
Whitsundays (IRE) 5-2 (11-12) Led to 1st, reminders after 4th, soon in rear and tailed off, left remote 3rd 3 out, 3rd of 6, dist behind Running Wolf (10-11) at Market Rasen 2m 5f hcp (4) gd in May.
Uno Valoroso (FR) 16-1 (11-11) Mid-division, headway over 2f out, one pace and no impression, (omitted last hurdle), 5th of 16, 10 1/4l behind Lucarno Dancer (10-3) at Hexham 2m hcp (5) sft in Nov.
Akula (IRE) 16-1 (10-10) Led after 1st, clear before 4th until approaching next, blundered and headed 3 out, weakened before next, 5th of 7, 32 1/4l behind Ascendant (10-10) at Huntingdon 2m (5) gd in Nov.