held up in rear, headway approaching 2 out, ridden to lead approaching last, driven out
mid-division, headway approaching 6th, ridden and every chance approaching last, weakened flat
mid-division, headway 6th, ridden 2 out, weakened approaching last
mid-division, ridden and not fluent 3 out, soon weakened, behind when pulled up before last
keen hold, prominent, led 4th until after 3 out, ridden to lead briefly again after 2 out, weakened last
mid-division, ridden and headway 2 out, stayed on well flat
mid-division, ridden and headway 2 out, stayed on
mid-division, headway 3 out, ridden next, weakened last
mid-division, headway 6th, ridden and every chance last, no extra towards finish
prominent, mistake and lost place 2nd, soon behind
mid-division, effort approaching 2 out, weakened approaching last
behind, ridden and headway 2 out, kept on but never nearer
behind, ridden 3 out, stayed on approaching last, never nearer
chased leaders until 6th
mid-division, never nearer
always behind
held up, never dangerous
behind from 5th
keen, prominent, ridden 3 out, soon weakened
prominent, mistake and lost place 4th, soon behind
A competitive start to the Cheltenham card with 23 largely unexposed runners lining up in this handicap hurdle. Topweight Keltic Bard lost no caste in defeat behind the useful Double Honour at Huntingdon last week but looks plenty high enough in the weights at present, as does Chief Cashier who has to race off an 8lb higher mark than when beating Sharpaten is a weaker race than this at Wincanton last time. Red Sun, who ran well here in October when third to Grave Doubts improved on that effort when successful at Doncaster last month but a 7lb rise gives him more to do. The Philip Hobbs-trained Jahash looks to be better over hurdles than he was on the flat but has been done few favours on his handicap debut off a mark of 110, while useful flat horse Dumaran, who won well at Warwick last month before disappointing in better company at Ascot, can race off just a 5lb higher mark. Cho Polu has claims of reversing Warwick running with Andrew Balding's horse on these revised terms, while the booking of promising amateur Jamie Moore catches the eye on Lanzarote sixth Gin Palace. The lightly raced Ever Present, from Alan King's stable, and Aquiline of a lightweight 10st 4lb are others to consider but the one that makes most appeal is Translucid. Christian Von Der Recke's gelding showed promise on his hurdling debut behind Porak at Ascot and duly opened his account when beating 21 rivals at Warwick. A decent second on the all-weather back in Germany since then confirms his current well-being and, off a mark of 113, he can take advantage of what looks a handy weight.
