held up, not fluent 3rd, chasing leaders when mistake 3 out, kept on same pace run-in
jumped left several fences, led, jumped badly left and headed 11th, soon behind
chased leaders, ridden 10th, weakened 12th
tracked leader, mistake 2nd, led 4 out, jumped right and headed last, tried to rally run-in, held near finish
jumped poorly, tracked leaders, lost place 5th, blundered next, lost touch 10th, tailed off when blundered 4 out
held up, not fluent 10th, stayed on under pressure from 3 out, never going pace to reach leaders
Some good stables represented here but Under The Sand gets the nod over Moreluck and Guard Duty. It will be interesting to see how Moreluck copes with this shorter trip and tighter track after a good run behind Long Walk at Ludlow last time, but Kim Bailey's gelding has to be considered. Multiple French winner Black de Bessy idled when winning here over a half-mile shorter trip last time and, while he has to be considered, has to concede weight to the field. Sylphide won over course and distance last time and is pretty consistent, although on bare ratings probably has to improve to score. Gurad Duty has to be high on the list of possibles here too as his overall form is solid, while McSnappy holds chances based on his Chepstow win in March and the powerful Philip Hobbs stable is represented by Under The Sand. The form of his third to Tikram now reads very well given that Gary Moore's gelding went on to score at the Cheltenham Festival, form which should make him seriously competitive here. As such, he gets the vote.
