held up in mid-division, headway travelling well approaching 3 out, ridden and weakened soon after next
held up in mid-division, no impression after 2 out
held up towards rear, headway approaching 2 out, soon ridden, one pace when hit last
held up in rear, some headway approaching 3 out, weakened before next
held up in touch, steady headway from 4 out, chased leaders approaching 2 out, ridden to challenge and 1 length down last, kept on under pressure flat
held up in rear, headway approaching 2 out, stayed on same pace last
made most, ridden and strongly pressed 2 out, headed soon after, weakened before last
chased leaders, challenged 2 out, narrow lead soon after, ridden approaching last, kept on well under pressure flat
held up in touch, hit 3 out, weakened next
took keen hold, chased leaders, ridden and hit 3 out, headway approaching last, kept on under pressure flat
chased leader, pushed along after 3 out, weakened before last
Nonrunner
Dinarius was good value for his win at Carlisle at the beginning of the month but an 11lb rise for that success leaves the Alex Hales-trained gelding facing a stiff task to follow up and a better bet looks to be PSI, who gets the vote ahead of Alazan. The three-year-old has only had three runs over hurdles for Philip Hobbs and he looks reasonably well treated on his handicap debut off a mark of 113. High Bird Humphrey has run two decent races this season, over fences on his reappearance and back over hurdles when beaten a nose by Whisky Magic at Carlisle last month and he has every chance but a 6lb rise since that run makes this tougher. Vinnes Friend put previous disappointments behind him when winning at Wexford last month and has to be considered along with Bernard Llewellyn's Sweet World, who has run to a consistent level of form of late and should be thereabouts again. Preference though is for Gary Moore's Psi, who stepped up from the form of his reappearance run when narrowly beaten by Scots Dragoon at Sandown recently and a reproduction of that effort may well suffice for the four-year-old.
Dinarius 10-1 (11-4) Behind, smooth headway throughout, soon stalking leaders, led last, ran on well, won at Carlisle 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) sft beating Quatro Pierji (11-3) by 2 1/2l, 9 ran.
Psi (USA) 6-1 (10-11) Held up in rear, good headway after 3 out, took narrow lead 2 out, ridden and headed last, held towards finish, 2nd of 11, 3/4l behind Scots Dragoon (10-13) at Sandown 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-110 (3) gd.
High Bird Humphrey 13-2 (10-5) Held up towards rear, headway 4th, challeneged 2 out, led approaching last, headed post, 2nd of 12, ns behind Whisky Magic (11-9) at Carlisle 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-125 (3) gd in Oct.
Eyeffess (IRE) 33-1 (10-0) Never better than mid-division, 9th of 19, 10l behind Bachelor Affair (10-11) at Gowran Park 2m hcp hdl 8Evens23 gf in Oct.
Sweet World 13-2 (9-13) Held up in rear, raced keenly, headway when mistake 3 out, stayed on to take 3rd last but no impression, 3rd of 8, 12l behind Rockiteer (10-9) at Bangor 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gd in Oct.
Vinnes Friend (IRE) 7-2fav (11-3) Held up in rear, headway from 5 out, 6th 3 out, 3rd travelling well 2 out, switched left to challenge run-in, quickened to lead close home, cosily, won at Wexford 2m hcp hdl 80-95 sft in Oct beating Danikhali (10-12) by 1 1/4l, 16 ran.
L'Homme de Nuit (GER) 5-1fav (11-7) In touch, ridden and weakened after 3 out, 7th of 14, 22l behind Dantari (10-3) at Fontwell 2m 2f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gd in Mar.
Zafranagar (IRE) 9-1 (10-7) Mid-division, headway after 4th, outpaced 4 out, plugged on to take 3rd flat, 3rd of 14, 18l behind Bella Haze (10-3) at Chepstow 2m mdn hdl (5) hvy in Feb.
Playing With Fire (IRE) 15-2 (10-4) Mid-division, not fluent 4th, headway when hampered 5th, hung right and every chance 2 out, not fluent last, stayed on one pace flat, 2nd of 11, 3 1/2l behind Aohna (10-7) at Huntingdon 2m NH mdn hdl (5) gd.
Coeur De Fou (FR) 9-1 (10-12) Held up in rear, headway approaching 7th, beaten before 3 out, 6th of 10, 27l behind Civil Servant (10-5) at Uttoxeter 2m NH nov hdl 4-6yo (4) gd in Oct.
Alazan (IRE) 2-5fav (11-5) Keen, led, clear 2nd, ridden and hit 2f out, headed soon after, outpaced by winner, 2nd of 7, 5l behind Mohanad (10-12) at Kempton 2m 3yo nov hdl (4) gf in Oct.
Wizard of Odds 9-4 (10-12) Held up, pulled hard, went handy 4th, close 2nd briefly after 3 out, 3rd and beaten between last 2, 3rd of 7, 10l behind Wolf Moon (10-12) at Towcester 2m nh nov hdl (4) gd in Apr.
Points of View 10-3 (11-0) Led, ran wide on bend after 6th, blundered badly and headed 2 out, no extra, 3rd of 13, 11l behind Slip (10-9) at Stratford 2m mdn hdl (3) gf in Oct.
