behind, pushed along halfway, one pace and no impression final 3f
chased leaders until weakened rapidly 5f out, tailed off
pressed winner to over 2f out, soon no extra
made most, hard driven and kept on under pressure final 3f, held on gamely when pressed inside final furlong
held up in rear, steady headway from 4f out, effort to press winner and every chance inside final furlong, held near finish
dwelt, held up in rear, smooth headway from 4f out, joined winner 2f out, lost 2nd and weakened inside final furlong
in touch, hard ridden 2f out, soon one pace and no impression leader
close up until outpaced final 3f
took keen hold in touch, pushed along halfway, kept on same pace final 2f
In the apprentice handicap, Gemi Bed gets the vote ahead of Val de Fleurie, Man The Gate and Miss Koen. The selection won this race last year from a ten-pound lower mark but she seemed to improve again on the all-weather over the winter and, with a good apprentice rider booked, he looks worth taking a chance on. Val de Fleurie won six times in Germany in 1997-1999 before coming to England, where he has so far won eight hurdle races. Also, last August, he won a similar race to today's from a mark of 55. He is now rated 58 but still looks set to play a leading part in this race. Man The Gate can be given chances based on his all-weather form and he certainly has a very good apprentice booked for the ride. Miss Koen also improved on the all-weather during the winter and has chances if transferring that form back to Turf. Of the others, Environment Friend looks well-treated on the best of his 2002 form but has really gone off the boil lately. Formerly with Andrew Balding, Golden Dual is bred to be a lot better than he has so far shown. However, a first-time visor brought about some improvement last time on the all-weather and, if it works again, he could go well. Galandora has the odd bit of form, while Tragic Dancer has a good chance based on his 1999 form but was returning from a long absence when running fairly respectably over hurdles last time. Overall, though, we'll take Gemi Bed to land the race again.
