held up in rear, in touch, under pressure before 4 out, stayed on before last, never able to challenge
chased leaders, lost place after 7th, headway 2 out, never on terms
tracked leader, mistake 3rd, jumped left 6th, reminders approaching 8th, weakened before 3 out
led, set strong pace, clear before 4 out, hard ridden and all out, approaching last, headed and no extra towards finish
held up in touch, hit8th, chased leader 3 out, hard ridden next, stayed on under pressure to lead closing stages
Winning hurdlers Bermuda Boy, Helium and Vertige Dore are all proving difficult to win with over fences and the latter sports a pair of blinkers today in an attempt to wake him up. Ban Uisce may find this company too hot so the vote goes to LIDAR, who arguably has the scope to go on to better things. Alan King's six-year-old has been busy on the Flat this summer and had some decent form in novice hurdles last season, most notably when second to Drive Time at Doncaster when Vertige Dore was a well-beaten fourth. He has the size to make a chaser and makes more appeal than fellow debutant Street Dance, who didn't really progress over hurdles as connections might have hoped.
Ban Uisce (IRE) 2-1fav (11-7) Tracked leaders, outpaced 4 out, rallied 2 out, stayed on well after last, not pace of winner, 2nd of 5, 8l behind Just Victor (11-8) at Worcester 2m 4f hcp chs 0-115 (4) gd in Aug.
Helium (FR) 7-1 (11-6) Tracked leaders, ridden after 4 out, stayed on same pace, never quite able to challenge, 4th of 5, 2 1/4l behind Pullyourfingerout (10-7) at Worcester 2m nov chs (4) gf in Aug.
Lidar (FR) 5-2fav (11-12) Led, jumped left 4th, headed 3 out, soon weakened, pulled up before next, in a race won by Connectivity (11-5) at Towcester 3m hcp hdl 0-120 (3) gd in Mar, 8 ran.
Street Dance (IRE) 8-1 (10-8) Led 1st, headed 3 out, weakened before next, 4th of 8, 33l behind Cygnet (9-9) at Bangor 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-145 (2) gd in Jul.
Vertige Dore (FR) 9-4 (11-6) Held up in rear, headway 11th, every chance when blundered last, hampered flat, weakened after, 4th of 9, 11l behind Vincitore (11-6) at Worcester 2m 7f beg chs (4) gd in Sep.
Bermuda Boy (FR) 4-1 (11-4) Prominent, not fluent and reminder 7th, outpaced from 4 out, went 2nd last, no chance with winner, 2nd of 5, 6l behind Lancetto (11-4) at Newton Abbot 2m nov chs (4) gd in Sep.