pecked 1st, chased leader, every chance when blundered 3 out, weakening when blundered 2 out
held up in rear, headway into 4th between last two, kept on same pace flat, nearest finish
raced wide, chased leading pair, not fluent 6th, 2nd approaching 2 out, driven and every chance when mistake last, driven in 3rd and one pace flat
hit 1st and next, took keen hold, held up in last pair, not fluent 7th, headway approaching 2 out, led last, driven clear flat
led, hit 8th, not fluent 10th, headed 3 out, lost 2nd approaching 2 out, soon weakened
not fluent 1st, chased leading trio, headway in 3rd approaching 4 out, led 3 out, mistake and headed last, kept on same pace flat, no chance with winner
Mister Bricolage showed little on his fencing bow at Leicester in December, finishing last. Barenger has his first run since May but is only 3lb higher than when winning at Market Rasen on Boxing Day. However, he isn't as potentially well treated as Coolbeg, who had a sharpener over hurdles last month and won off a 5lb higher mark back in 2012. LITTLE JIMMY looked as though the outing would do him good at Stratford and ran accordingly. He'll be a lot straighter here and, only a pound higher than when winning at that track in March, gets the nod.
Barenger (IRE) 16-1 (11-12) Mid-division, weakened before 4 out, 7th of 11, well behind Venetian Lad (11-5) at Plumpton 2m 4f hcp ch 0-110 (4) gd in May.
Mister Bricolage (IRE) 6-1 (11-1) Held up towards rear, headway on outside approaching 4 out, pushed along before next, soon weakened, 11th of 14, 37l behind Tarvini (10-6) at Chepstow 3m hcp hdl 0-120 (4) gd in Sep.
Coolbeg (IRE) 8-1 (11-10) Held up towards rear, pushed along before 4 out, soon struggling, never a factor, 8th of 11, 19l behind Taroum (10-13) at Chepstow 2m hcp hdl 0-100 (5) gd in Sep.
Humbel Ben (IRE) 25-1 (10-12) Not fluent in rear, behind from 3rd, mistake 6th, tailed off 8th, soon pulled up, in a race won by Riddleofthesands (11-2) at Ludlow 2m hcp ch 0-110 (4) hvy in Feb, 7 ran.
Surprise Us 20-1 (11-2) Held up towards rear, pecked badly 3rd, soon struggling, tailed off, pulled up, in a race won by Dunraven Storm (11-2) at Exeter 2m 1f beg chs (4) gs, 8 ran.
Little Jimmy 8-1 (10-13) Held up towards rear, headway before 5 out, soon weakened, 7th of 12, 37l behind Gizzit (10-12) at Stratford 2m 4f hcp 0-100 (5) gd.
