held up, blundered 7th, headway approaching 2 out, went modest 3rd last, no impression
chased leaders, soon pushed along, lost place, never dangerous
mid-division, effort 8th, weakened after next
chased leaders, outpaced 8th, stayed on to take 2nd flat, no chance with winner
chased leaders, outpaced from 4 out
held up when fell 4th
held up, hit 7th, headway 8th, led next, clear from 2 out, eased heavily towards finish
chased leaders, in 4th, pushed along when mistake, unseated rider 9th
HISTORIE DE MOEURS won well at Aintree last time out and is taken to follow-up at the expense of Silmi and Honour's Dream. The selection won back-to-back races over hurdles last summer but had reached a level where he was finding life tough. He scored on his chase debut at Aintree and connections have decided to take their chance running him with a penalty. His rivals only look moderate, and with a clear round he is difficult to oppose. Silmi won a juvenile hurdle at this venue last summer and earned himself a rating as high as 125. Even though he managed to finish second to Classic Swain at Newton Abbot last time out he is clearly not well handicapped over hurdles but should be noted in the market on his novice chase debut. Honour's Dream has been running well in defeat in various handicap chases of late. He looks to have reached a level where he is finding it difficult to score off his current mark but connections have placed him into a race he is more than capable of winning, so he is respected. Paradi is only lightly raced and at one point he was highly thought of so is another to recognise, that said there was a lot to like about Histoire De Moeurs at Aintree last time out and he is given the vote to score again.
Danny Zuko (IRE) 3-1fav (11-5) Towards rear, headway from 4 out, every chance 2 out, weakened from approaching last, 6th of 9, 26l behind Still At Lunch (10-7) at Kelso 2m 2f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gs.
Finnegans Rainbow 7-1 (10-9) Tracked leader, led 2nd, headed 8th, led again 10th, ridden and headed approaching 14th, soon lost touch with leading pair, last of 3, well behind Badger (10-9) at Fakenham 3m nov stks (3) gf.
Histoire De Moeurs (FR) 12-1 (10-0) Chased leading pair, mistake 4 out, ridden to lead approaching last, stayed on well flat, won at Aintree 2m nov stks (4) gd beating All For The Cause (10-12) by 4l, 6 ran.
Honour's Dream (FR) 6-1 (11-6) Tracked leader, reminder after 9th, hampered next, left 2nd, held from 4 out, mistake last, 2nd of 5, 24l behind Picts Hill (11-8) at Wincanton 2m 5f nov hcp chs 0-120 (3) sft in Mar.
Jordan's Light (USA) 5-4fav (10-5) Held up, making headway when hit 3 out, led approaching next, blundered next and last, driven out, won at Kelso 2m hcp chs 0-105 (5) sft in Nov beating Sorrento Moon (10-5) by 15l, 11 ran.
Mujamead 40-1 (10-12) Led until approaching 3rd, led 5th until after 8th, weakened approaching 3 out, tailed off, 10th of 11, well behind Picot de Say (11-2) at Aintree 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-125 (3) gd.
Paradi (FR) 16-1 (11-5) Led until approaching 4th, weakened quickly after 6th, tailed off, 6th of 7, well behind Theatre Diva (11-3) at Taunton 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-135 (3) sft in Dec.
Silmi 22-1 (11-2) Held up, headway after 3 out, ridden to chase winner approaching next, kept on, 2nd of 8, 2l behind Classic Swain (11-0) at Newton Abbot 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gf.
Writers Block (IRE) 4-1 (12-0) Ww, some prog to 6th 4out, ko to go 4th but no dngr, 4th of 17, 5l behind Bold Ali (12-0) at Taylorstown 3m ire ptp in Apr.
