held up and behind, headway on inside after 9th, disputed 2nd 2 out, weakened approaching last
held up, headway approaching 7th, 3rd when mistake 3 out, weakened before next
led and soon clear, not fluent 7th, ridden after 2 out, still about 8 lengths clear last, no extra and headed flat
held up, headway on outside approaching 3 out, dispute in 2nd when mistake 2 out, kept on approaching last, led flat, driven out
chased clear leader, ridden 9th, still about 8 lengths down last, soon lost 2nd, stayed on to regain 2nd towards finish
held up in touch, mistake 7th, losing place when mistake 9th, soon weakened, tailed off
chased leaders, ridden and weakened after 9th
held up in touch, brief effort 9th, ridden and weakened after next, behind when pulled up before 2 out
held up in touch, pushed along when mistake 7th, behind from next, tailed off
held up, not fluent 5th, headway approaching 3 out, ridden and weakened before next
Another open race, and one that can be taken by Station Island, with Ken'tucky, Whitford Don and Riothamus others to consider. The selection is on a hat-trick after wins at Hereford and Sedgefield last month and goes from strength to strength. Both those efforts have been by lengthy margins and he looks to have more to come. A thorough stayer, he will be doing all his best work at the finish, won't mind if it gets any quicker, and can score. Ken'tucky is another who likes decent underfoot conditions. Dual Ludlow wins in January and February over long distances have marked him out as a natural for this sort of contest, and with Nicky Henderson's record here he has to be highly respected. Top weight Whitford Don was gutsy in victory at Newbury last time out and with a rise in the weights here he will have to pull out even more. Nevertheless the ground is in his favour and he can run well and into a place. Riothamus is trained by Ferdy Murphy, who has said that chasing will be his game. However, he has some decent solid hurdling form to his name and may still be capable of being involved at the finish, particularly with the yard back in form. Despite that we will side with Station Island to complete a hat-trick.
