held up mid-division, headway to lead after 8th, driven clear between last 2, stayed on well
held up, headway 7th, challenged 4 out, ridden and kept on same pace from 2 out, no impression
led to 2nd, tracked leader, led again 7th, headed after next, ridden and kept on from 2 out, no impression on leaders
raced keenly and soon in touch, lost place halfway, tailed off when pulled up before 7th
mid-division, outpaced 4 out, soon behind, pulled up before 2 out
chased leaders, outpaced 4 out, soon weakened
Hard Act To Follow looks to have been found a suitable opportunity to supplement last month's Ayr success with Numero Un de Solzen the obvious choice for the forecast ahead of Kempski and Matmata de Tendron. The last mentioned has not progressed as much as may have been expected and, while it may be too soon to write him off completely, Andy Crook's gelding is probably best watched. Kempski has yet to prove himself over this far and of more interest may be Numero Un de Solzen, who belied odds of 40/1 when making a winning debut in a novice hurdle here over 2m4f in November. There should be more to come from the five-year-old French bred gelding but he would need to improve significantly to get the better of the selection. A bumper winner in Ireland, Hard Act To Follow made a pleasing start for Howard Johnson when running out the decent winner of a novice hurdle at Ayr under testing conditions last month. Today's longer trip should bring about further improvement in the son of Shernazar and he looks the one to be on.
Hard Act To Follow (IRE) 6-4fav (10-12) Mid-division, headway 6th, joined leader 7th, led after 4 out, ridden out, won at Ayr 2m 4f nov hdl (D) sft in Dec beating Supreme's Legacy (10-12) by 5l, 17 ran.
Numero Un de Solzen (FR) 40-1 (10-11) Held up in touch, headway to chase leaders approaching 2 out, left in lead and clear last, won at Carlisle 2m 4f nh nov hdl (E) sft in Nov beating Royal Coburg (10-7) by 10l, 10 ran.
Kempski 25-1 (10-12) Tracked leaders, ridden 5th, soon weakened, 5th of 10, 36l behind The Duke's Speech (11-5) at Ayr 2m nh mdn hdl (4) sft.
Matmata de Tendron (FR) 25-1 (10-12) Held up, reminders 3rd, lost place from 7th, tailed off, 5th of 6, well behind Drumbeater (10-4) at Perth 3m nov hcp hdl 0-105 (E) gf in Aug.
Tees Mill 33-1 (11-1) Held up, behind from halfway, 10th of 12, well behind Cloudy Lane (11-4) at Southwell 2m 1f nhf (H) gd in May.
Mae Moss 200-1 (10-13) Held up mid division, hit 3 out, soon weakened, 10th of 13, well behind Zeitgeist (11-6) at Catterick 2m 3f nov hdl (4) gd.
Roadworthy (IRE) 66-1 (10-0) Held up towards rear, headway 8th, ridden next, weakened approaching last, 4th of 15, 23l behind Caesar's Palace (11-9) at Ayr 3m hcp hdl 0-95 (5) sft.
Witch Power 33-1 (10-6) Mid-division, lost place over 6f out, soon behind, 16th of 19, 44l behind Young Albert (11-4) at Ayr 2m nhf (H) sft in Dec.