chased leader until after 1st, remained prominent, not fluent 5th, led 7th, clear last, comfortably
raced keenly, tracked leader after 1st, led 6th, jumped left and headed 7th, no extra last
held up, headway to go 3rd when not fluent 7th, pushed along after 3 out, soon ridden, weakened flat
led to 6th, weakened next, tailed off when pulled up before 2 out
not jumped well, in touch, weakened after 7th
None of the five can be overlooked here but narrow preference is for BERGO ahead of Glencree. The key here could be the ground as Evan Williams' gelding was impressive when winning on his hurdling bow at Plumpton on good-to-firm. He then ran well in defeat behind Dee Ee Williams, before being disappointing on softer ground in a Grade Two at Ascot. A break should have freshened him up and he can carry his penalty to victory. Also penalised is Glencree, a Howard Johnson inmate. He was a game, if not entirely convincing, winner last time at Musselburgh and evidently acts on this ground. He will get further in time but should run well today. Sindanna is a well-related mare who won a bumper at Market Rasen in April of last year. She acts around the track and is sent straight over a longer trip on this hurdling bow. No Rules gets plenty of weight, but the more interesting of the two newcomers is Greenwich Meantime. The former Chester Cup winner is a late newcomer to hurdles but would be interesting if translating his obvious ability to this game. An intriguing clash, but this new trip can bring about more improvement from Bergo.
Bergo (GER) 7-2 (11-0) Held up in last pair, headway on outer after 5th, effort after 3 out, weakened after next, 7th of 8, 13l behind Medermit (11-7) at Ascot 2m nov hdl Grd 2 (1) gs in Dec.
Glencree (IRE) 11-8fav (11-0) Always handy, ridden and led approaching 2 out, driven and wandered right run-in, won at Musselburgh 2m 4f mdn hdl (5) gf in Nov beating Broadway Star (10-11) by 2 1/2l, 15 ran.
Greenwich Meantime 9-2 (9-8) Led after 1f, ridden and headed 2f out, soon weakened, last of 6, 7l behind Mr Aitch (9-1) at Lingfield 2m hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Feb (Flat).
Sindanna 10-11fav (10-1) Chased leaders, led 2f out, driven out, won at Market Rasen 2m 1f mrs nhf (6) gd in Apr beating Petit Fleur (10-12) by 1 1/2l, 11 ran.
No Rules 10-1 (8-9) Steadied in start, held up in rear, ridden 3f out, headway over 1f out, never nearer, 5th of 13, 10l behind Elliwan (8-12) at Southwell 1m 4f app hcp (6) fbs (Flat).
