slight mistake 1st, held up in rear, improved into 3rd after 4th, no extra before 3 out, eased before next, ridden and pressed for moderate 3rd run-in, lost 3rd close home
chased leaders, 2nd from 2nd, closed on leader 4 out, challenged 3 out, ridden before next, kept on without matching winner from last
made all, clear and slight mistake 4th, reduced advantage 4 out, challenged 3 out, soon ridden, kept on well under pressure from last
held up, ridden along before 5th, no impression in 5th before 4 out, kept on one pace straight, moderate 3rd close home
chased leader in 2nd, slight mistake 2nd and soon 3rd, dropped to rear at 4th, soon detached, pulled up before 5 out
held up, 4th halfway, no impression on leaders before 4 out, soon weakened and completely tailed off
BLEU ET ROUGE was not at his best in the County Hurdle at Cheltenham last month and is better judged on his earlier second in a Grade 3 handicap at Newbury. Clear at the weights, he looks another with decent claims on today’s card for Willie Mullins. Brelade finished in front of the selection in the County Hurdle but has 10lb to find on these terms. He’s still preferred to stable companion Flaxen Flare, who remains out of sorts, while Prospectus also has a tough task carrying a penalty.
Bleu Et Rouge (FR) 10-1 (11-12) Held up in mid-division, headway 2 out, ridden and lost place before last, weakened, 14th of 24, 19 1/4l behind Mohaayed (10-11) at Cheltenham 2m 1f hcp (1) sft in Mar.
Brelade 25-1 (10-13) Tracked leaders, 5th on last bend, soon ridden, no impression from last, 7th of 24, 12 1/2l behind Mohaayed (10-11) at Cheltenham 2m 1f hcp (1) sft in Mar.
Dr Mikey (IRE) 14-1 (11-2) Led, pushed along approaching 3 out and mistake, ridden 2 out, headed entering straight, soon weakened, 5th of 6, 36 1/2l behind Any Second Now (11-0) at Punchestown 2m (1) sft in Jan.
Flaxen Flare (IRE) 50-1 (11-9) Always in rear, 20th of 23, 34 1/4l behind Blow By Blow (11-10) at Cheltenham 2m 4f hcp (2) sft in Mar.
Run James Run (IRE) 66-1 (11-4) Always towards rear, 10th 4 out, pushed along after next and soon no impression, completely tailed off, 10th of 11, dist behind Ten Theatre (10-11) at Kilbeggan 2m 3f mdn Good - Yielding in Aug.
Sonny B (IRE) 16-1 (11-5) Prominent, a little keen, slight mistakes 5th and 7th, almost on terms 3 out, 3rd before straight, soon weakened, 15th of 17, dist behind Showem Silver (10-1) at Fairyhouse 2m 6f hcp Good - Yielding in Apr.
Prospectus 8-1 (11-3) Chased leader in 2nd, not fluent 2nd and again not fluent 6 out, dropped to rear from 4 out and soon ridden, again not fluent 3 out and soon no extra, kept on into moderate 3rd run-in, 3rd of 4, 35 1/2l behind Duca De Thaix (10-13) at Limerick 2m (1) hvy in Dec.
