tracked leaders, led 3 out, ridden run-in, headed last 75yards, no extra
tracked leader, weakened from 4 out
in touch, headway before 8th, went 2nd after last, ridden run-in, kept on to lead last 75 yards
tracked leaders, lost place from 6th, tailed off, pulled up
always behind, tailed off, pulled up
led, headed and mistake 3 out, hit last, kept on
Nonrunner
David Pipe, clearly determined to set off ALTERNATIF over fences as soon as possible, sends the five-year-old on the trek from Somerset to the Lake District for his initial meeting with the larger obstacles. The French import has been in good heart on all four starts over hurdles for his new yard who obviously believe that chasing is his forte. Hopefully, he'll fence with fluency and make a successful start. He faces a couple of fascinating opponents though in Morning Royalty and River Maigue, both of whom would be very interesting indeed if able to rekindle their best. However, Morning Royalty has been a little disappointing since leaving Willie Mullins and it'll be interesting to see what Sophie Leech makes of River Maigue. The latter was a top novice with Nicky Henderson two to three years ago and ran with some promise first time up for his new yard at Aintree. Keep an eye on him. Volcanic could be another recruit of some promise and Dr Moloney was scheduled to run at Hexham on Tuesday evening.
Alternatif (FR) 5-1fav (11-2) Prominent on inside, ridden to lead before last, headed flat, held towards finish, 2nd of 10, 1l behind No Planning (11-8) at Haydock 3m hcp hdl (2) sft.
Morning Royalty (IRE) 14-1 (11-11) Held up mid-division, weakened before 4 out, last of 12, well behind Central Flame (11-7) at Hexham 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-125 (3) gd in Apr.
River Maigue (IRE) 16-1 (11-6) Mid-division, headway from 3 out, went 3rd last, stayed on, no impression on winner, 3rd of 11, 7l behind Virgilio (10-5) at Aintree 2m 4f hcp hdl (2) gd.
Silk Hall (UAE) 13-2 (10-12) Led, headed after 4th, outpaced in 3rd before 3 out, no impression, 3rd of 4, 15l behind Pair Of Jacks (10-12) at Kelso 2m 1f nov chs (4) gs.
Unex Picasso 33-1 (11-4) Made virtually all, not fluent last, strongly pressed final 150 yards, held on well, won at Cartmel 3m 2f hcp hdl 0-110 (4) gf in May '13 beating Any Given Moment (11-2) by hd, 9 ran.
Volcanic (FR) 18-1 (11-11) Close up, led before 3rd, headed 2 out, weakened before last, 3rd of 12, 21l behind Central Flame (11-7) at Hexham 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-125 (3) gd in Apr.
Dr Moloney (IRE) 12-1 (10-4) Behind, effort before 3 out, soon weakened, 8th of 9, 29l behind Avidity (11-4) at Ayr 2m 4f con hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gd in Apr.
