prominent, wandered into 1st, jumped very slowly and lost place at hurdle, soon last continued not fluent, behind 6th, pulled up soon after
soon in touch, not fluent 6th, ridden 3 out, stayed on same pace
prominent, ridden and lost place 6th, weakened 7th, tailed off
took keen hold, soon in touch, went 2nd before 6th, led approaching 3 out wher not fluent, driven 2 out, headed flat, stayed on
in rear, weakened before 8th, pulled up before last
prominent, not much room and lost place 2nd, headway 6h, outpaced next, weakened before 3 out, tailed off
held up, not much room 1st, not fluent 3rd, headway after 6th, not fluent 9th, challenged 3 out, hit 2 out, led flat, driven out
led, not fluent 9th, headed approaching 3 out, no extra flat
mid-division, ridden 6th, weakened 8th, tailed off
A trio of promising novices face the starter here and there may not be much to choose between them. Leader Of The Gang and Tidal Dance were both narrowly beaten in handicap company last time and should be winning soon but SOUTHFIELD THEATRE arguably has more scope so gets the nod. Paul Nicholls' bumper winner was only beaten 12 lengths by subsequent Challow Hurdle winner Taquin De Seuil in a Grade 2 at Sandown in December when making his hurdles debut and has been given plenty of time to mature. Ex-pointer Azure Aware is worth noting for future reference but Billy No Name is in danger of becoming disappointing and Social Overdrive hasn't shown much aptitude for hurdling so far.
Achilles Hare (IRE) 20-1 (11-5) Led 5f, prominent, ridden 6f out, weakened over 3f out, 7th of 12, 24l behind Pure Science (11-5) at Warwick 2m mdn NH flat (6) sft in Jan.
Azure Aware (IRE) 8-1 (12-0) Chsd ldrs, 3rd 5out & chall bef 4out, ld 2out, hdd last, no ex final 50 yards, 2nd of 13, 1 3/4l behind Sterling Stuff (12-0) at Dromahane 3m ire ptp sft in Dec.
Barry The Barber (IRE) 150-1 (11-0) Mistake 1st, behind, lost touch 3rd, 11th of 17, well behind Brick Red (11-0) at Uttoxeter 2m mdn hdl (5) sft in May.
Billy No Name (IRE) 25-1 (11-0) Mid-division, under pressure 4 out, soon no impression, 5th of 7, 26l behind Up And Go (11-5) at Ascot 2m 3f nov hdl (2) sft in Feb.
Carheney River (IRE) 150-1 (10-10) Held up towards rear, some headway into mid-division 6th, never near leaders, 9th of 13, well behind Black Thunder (10-10) at Taunton 2m 3f nh nov hdl (4) gs in Dec '11.
Social Overdrive (IRE) 10-1 (11-0) Tracked leaders, pushed along and outpaced 3f out, kept on to take 3rd place inside final furlong, 3rd of 7, 7l behind Natural Spring (10-7) at Lingfield 2m n h flat (4) std in Jan.
Southfield Theatre (IRE) 6-4fav (11-0) In touch, went 3rd from 2 out, one pace, 3rd of 5, 12l behind Taquin Du Seuil (11-0) at Sandown 2m 4f nov hdl G2 (1) hvy in Dec.
Tidal Dance (IRE) 2-1fav (11-12) Chased leaders, challenged and mistake 3 out, rallied to lead 2 out, soon joined, narrowly headed under pressure flat, kept on until no extra and held in closing stages, 2nd of 10, nk behind Virginia Ash (11-0) at Plumpton 3m 1f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) hvy in Jan.
Upton Wood 50-1 (11-2) Mid-division, weakened over 5f out, 9th of 12, well behind Quick Decisson (11-2) at Wincanton 2m NH flat (6) hvy in Dec.
Leader Of The Gang 3-1fav (11-6) Raced keenly, chased leader, led approaching 2 out, ridden and joined last, driven and kept narrow advantage until headed and held final 75 yards, 2nd of 12, 1/2l behind Be All Man (10-12) at Sandown 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-120 (4) gs in Feb.
