in touch, headway to chase leader 7th, mistake and led 2 out, soon pushed clear, idled and hit last, not run on and headed flat
chased leader until 3rd, jumped slowly 7th, ridden and weakened 8th
not fluent and jumped left and hung throughout, led, jumped slowly and headed 5th, weakened before 3 out, blundered and nearly unseated rider 2 out
in rear, headway 8th, went 3rd 3 out, ridden next, stayed on under pressure towards finish
close up, chased leader 3rd, left in lead 5th, ridden and headed 2 out, challenged approaching last, led rlat, driven out
This looks to be between CORTINAS, Sendani and Beherayn, with preference being for the first named. Charlie Mann's switched the gelding to chasing after a decent year over hurdles, and the signs have been encouraging so far. Paul Nicholls has a cracking record here when he sends runners to the Norfolk circuit, and Sendani's been solid but not spectacular, for what's his chase debut. Beherayn hasn't always been the most straightforward, running out twice in his career and not the most fluent, but if everything falls right for him and his mind's on the job, he should be involved. Bold Policy is the highest rated of the trio to have an official mark, but failing to complete two of his last three outings doesn't give us much encouragement about his chances. Safe Investment looks anything but. It's a trappy little contest, but marginal preference is for Cortinas.
Beherayn 9-4 (10-12) Pulled hard, held up in rear, headway to lead approaching 3rd where mistake, clear next until before 6th, hit 9th, headed approaching 4 out where jumped left, weakened 3 out, 4th of 7, 29l behind William Bonney (11-4) at Ludlow 2m nov stks (3) gd in Apr.
Cortinas (GER) Evensfav (10-12) Held up, short lived effort approaching 4 out, 4th of 8, 33l behind Dishdasha (10-12) at Ludlow 2m nov stks (3) gd in Apr.
Iron Hague (IRE) 125-1 (10-9) Chased leader, lost place approaching 10th, pulled up before 4 out, in a race won by Pop (11-0) at Doncaster 2m 3f beg chs (4) sft in Dec, 11 ran.
Master Charm (FR) 8-1 (11-12) Held up last, reached for 10th, short of room on bend soon after, headway next, pecked 4 out, soon ridden, weakened after 2 out, 4th of 9, 16l behind Keepitsecret (11-8) at Newton Abbot 2m 5f hcp ch 0-110 (4) gf.
Safe Investment (USA) 8-1 (10-7) Held up, headway approaching 3 out, ridden and one pace last, 4th of 11, 6l behind Newgate (10-5) at Market Rasen 2m 1f sell hdl (5) gd in Apr.
Sendani (FR) 10-1 (10-12) Mid-division, headway approaching 3 out, ridden approaching 2 out, weakened before last, 9th of 15, 21l behind Sangfroid (10-3) at Sandown 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-140 (2) gd in Apr.
Apache Dawn 40-1 (10-5) Held up in rear, raced keenly, struggling from 8th, 5th of 6, 32l behind Histoire De Moeurs (10-0) at Aintree 2m nov stks (4) gd.
Bold Policy (IRE) 11-1 (11-0) Mistakes, always in rear, lost touch 6th, mistake and rider lost iron next, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out, in a race won by Donaldson (11-0) at Towcester 2m 3f beg chase (4) gd in Apr, 6 ran.
