tracked winner, ridden 3 out, kept on one pace
made all, blundered 13th, pushed out
Gielgud has race fitness on his side but, along with Palua, is more exposed than either Be My Friend or Alvino and the last mentioned gets the vote. The selection has had his problems, having had a wind operation after a successful campaign in bumpers, but seemed none the worse for that when winning a novices' hurdle at Ludlow in April. Always more likely to do better once switched to the larger obstacles, Henrietta Knight's gelding makes more appeal than Be My Friend. Heather Dalton's seven-year-old remains open to improvement after just three career starts under rules, latterly when winning at Bangor. However, that was a weak event and the son of Be My Native needs to step up markedly on his first run over fences to take a hand here. Palua has been highly tried over hurdles and may appreciate the switch to fences but makes limited appeal, while Gielgud does not look good enough, so we are happy to side with Alvino.
