chased leaders, mistake 3rd, mistake and lost place 6th, well beaten 2 out, pulled up before last
prominent when slow and big 1st, soon mid-division, in rear from 3rd, behind when jumped right 6th
chased leaders, ridden after 3 out, soon beaten
held up, headway 6th, chased winner 3 out, ridden and no impression when mistake last
took keen hold, led briefly 1st, chased winner, not fluent 4th, mistake and lost place 3 out, soon weakened, puled up before last
made virtually all, not fluent 3rd, clear last, ran on well
held up in rear, headway after 6th, modest 3rd when hit 2 out, well held by front pair
held up towards rear, jumped right 2nd, some headway after 6th, well beaten 2 out
Bran looked certain to win when falling at the last here on New Year’s Day. A wind operation appears to have had the desired effect but he could be up against an above-average recruit here in GRAND ROI (NAP). The Henderson four-year-old won a bumper at Wincanton on his UK debut and then ran fourth in Listed company at Cheltenham. He was beaten under a length on that latter occasion and should take all the beating if transferring that ability to hurdles. Touchthesoul has shown signs of promise and is eased in grade but Break The Rules hasn’t shown much since second here in October.
Bran 15-2 (11-5) Held up and mistake 1st, headway 3 out, ridden and every chance 2 out, led approaching next, looked sure to win when hit and fell last, at Fakenham 2m mdn (4) gs in Jan.
Orsino (IRE) 100-1 (11-0) Mid-division, in rear when slow and ridden 5th, pulled up after 7th, at Chepstow 2m 3f mdn (4) hvy in Dec.
Pisgah Pike (IRE) 6-1 (11-0) Chased leaders, challenged over 3f out until 2f out, edged right over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 3rd of 15, 13 1/2l behind Mont Segur (11-0) at Ludlow 1m 6f (4) sft in Dec.
Touchthesoul (ITY) 25-1 (11-0) Bit keen, held up in last pair on inside, plugged on in 4th between last 2, never on terms, 4th of 8, 20 1/2l behind Fred (11-0) at Kempton 2m (2) sft in Dec.
Aleatoric (IRE) 150-1 (10-12) Held up in mid-division, well beaten before 2 out, 12th of 15, dist behind Extreme Force (10-12) at Catterick 2m (4) gs in Dec.
Grand Roi (FR) 7-4fav (10-12) Chased leaders, challenged 2f out, ridden and not quicken inside final furlong, stayed on towards finish, 4th of 16, 1/2l behind Audacity (10-12) at Cheltenham 1m 6f lst (1) sft in Jan.
Break The Rules 10-1 (9-11) Towards rear, headway on outside chasing leaders 5f out, weakened over 2f out, 11th of 14, 17 1/4l behind Be Fair (9-2) at Kempton 1m 4f hcp (5) pol in Jan.
Postie 3-1 (8-9) Mid-division, headway over 5f out, chased leaders over 3f out, stayed on well final furlong, 5th of 13, 2 3/4l behind Blyton Lass (9-3) at Southwell 1m 4f hcp (6) pol in Oct.
