held up, headway 8th, hit 12th soon ridden, led 2 out, driven out
led, ridden and headed before 3 out, soon weakened, pulled up before next
in touch, mistake 3rd, struggling from over 5 out
close up, hit 5th, ridden and chased winner approaching last, stayed on flat
behind 6th, pulled up before 12th
tracked leader, blundered 11th, ridden and led approaching 3 out, headed next, weakened approaching last
Not the sort of contest you'd be driving miles to see and anything in the plus column is a bonus before you decide where to place our stakes. As far as that is concerned, top weight Be Upstanding gets our vote. The gelding's yard are currently having winners and coupled with that he already has a course win to his name in a hurdle last year. The eight-year-old seems to handle soft ground well enough (his win here was on good to soft) and he has also been dropped a few pounds to a mark of 97. Now her has been given a chance, and with those other factors in his favour he is a tentative selection to prevail against some similarly uninspiring opposition. Galleon's Reach has plenty of experience, but not many wins to his name, though he did pick up a soft ground handicap chase at Stratford in August. However, he has plenty still to prove after being pulled up in two of his last three starts and is overlooked here. Benefit has gone almost two years without a win and has not yet scored over fences. The nine-year-old does not look to be at his best when there is cut in the ground and it would be a surprise if he were good enough to open his account here. Tambo has shown a glimmer of promise in the past, but has been off the course for well over a year. Admittedly he would not need to be anything special to win, but it is most likely that he will need the race after such a long lay-off. Glenalla Braes and Treble Trouble both look decidedly moderate and are too far out of the handicap to seriously consider.
