in touch, fell 1st
behind, hit 3rd and 4th, tracked leaders halfway, hit 13th, going well to lead last, ridden and soon clear
led, ridden approaching last, soon headed and no extra
tracked leader, behind and struggling from halfway, pulled up before 10th
CLOUDY LANE is rated 15lbs higher than Money Trix who is in turn rated 15lbs higher than Natiain who is closely matched with More Likely. Therefore, the claims of the McCain runner are there for all to see and there are no concerns regarding his well being following his game victory at Haydock. He may have other races on the radar and this trip may be on the short side but he still rates the one to beat. Money Trix is highly regarded by Nicky Richards and could rate better than his current mark but it's a fairly big ask to take on a horse like Cloudy Lane. He took a heavy fall at Newbury when travelling well and should have benefited from his return to action at Ayr and should make a race of it. This won't be as easy as the ratings suggest and an upset could be on the cards but we'll stay true to Cloudy Lane.
Cloudy Lane 6-1 (11-10) Held up, headway 5 out, led after 4 out, jumped left last, soon hard ridden and under pressure, all out, won at Haydock 3m hcp chs Grd 2 (1) sft in Jan beating Glasker Mill (10-4) by a hd, 10 ran.
Money Trix (IRE) 7-4fav (11-12) Chased leaders, hit 8th, hit 5 out, ridden after 4 out, every chance last, kept on, 2nd of 5, 1 1/2l behind Silver Sedge (10-5) at Ayr 3m 1f hcp chs 0-145 (2) sft.
Natiain 18-1 (11-1) Led and clear, blundered 7th, headed 4 out, soon weakened, behind when pulled up 5 out in race won by Merigo (11-1) at Newcastle 4m 1f hcp chs (2) hvy, 13 ran.
More Likely 7-2 (11-6) Made all, stayed on strongly, won at Carlisle 2m 5f mrs hcp chs (3) hvy in Dec beating Chickapeakray (11-6) by 6l, 6 ran.
