held up towards rear, headway 4 out, weakened 3 out
keen in rear, hampered 3rd, soon tailed off
keen, led to 4 out, weakened 3 out
in touch, headway 5th, every chance 2 out, weakened flat
held up in touch, weakened 4th, tailed off
in touch, 5th and weakening when fell 2 out
held up towards rear, some headway when hampered 2 out, jumped badly left last
prominent, soon ridden along, weakened 4 out
held up headway from 4 out but not reached leaders
prominent and keen, led and hit 4 out, ran on well flat
chased leaders until mistake 4th, soon weakened, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out
always behind, pulled up before 2 out
always in rear, tailed off
Lutea will probably be a warm order here for Martin Pipe, but with the ground on the slow side for him, we will oppose him here and take Bonny Grey to score, Sargasso Sea and Baranook others to consider. The selection handles both this ground and a range of trips from this up to 2m 4f. She was caught out by faster ground at Stratford the other day, but with some juice in it here she can gain reward for some consistency and take advantage of the weights to score. Lutea won a couple of bumpers on decent ground and clearly can't be written off confidently on his hurdling debut, though he has not proved he can handle the ground just yet. Sargasso Sea was running a good race at Wetherby when falling there on Boxing Day, but has a bit to do after disappointing on soft ground at Leicester last time, while Baranook looks a better proposition, though the colt was beaten far more easily than the three lengths suggest here last time by Prato, who ran earlier on the card tonight. In summary then, we go for Bonny Grey to break her maiden tag.
Bannow Strand (IRE) 20-1 Took keen hold, led chasing group in 4th, weakened after 3 out, 8th of 12, 34l behind Prins Willem at Cheltenham 2m 5f nov hdl (B) gd.
Lutea (IRE) 16-1 Led until over 6f out, weakened over 3f out, 7th of 17, 31l behind Karanja at Newbury 2m nhf Grd 2 (A) gs in Feb.
Sargasso Sea 4-1 Towards rear, mistake 6th and 8th, tailed off and pulled up 4 out in race won by Thieves'glen at Leicester 2m mdn chs (E) sft in Feb, 11 ran.
Sparkes 33-1 Prominent for 4f, soon beaten, 11th of 13, well behind Mister Quasimodo at Chepstow 2m nhf (H) sft in Nov.
Baranook (IRE) 22-1 Held up, hit 5th, soon struggling, tailed off, 5th of 9, well behind Openide at Cheltenham 2m 1f 4yo nov hdl (B) gd.
Flying Patriarch 9-4fav Led to after 2nd, led next, ridden and headed approaching 4 out, weakened next, 5th of 9, 19l behind Vinmix De Bessy at Plumpton 2m mdn hdl (E) gd in Mar.
Nippy Des Mottes (FR) 7-2 In touch, took closer order 4th, ridden after 3 out, weakened next, 6th of 15, 36l behind Gold Ring at Wincanton 2m mdn hdl (E) gs in Mar.
Bonny Grey 17-2 Held up in rear, ridden 6th, headway after 3 out, not reach leaders, 4th of 13, 7l behind The Persuader at Stratford 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-120 (D) gf.
