held up in rear, headway 5th, went 3rd 4 out, led before next, narrowly headed 2 out, soon ridden, still upsides when hit last, driven to lead again flat
chased leaders, went 2nd 4 out until ridden next, no extra in 3rd before 2 out, tailed off
held up in touch, headway 4 out, went 2nd going well 3 out, led narrowly 2 out, driven and strongly pressed approaching last, headed flat, no extra
chased leader until 4 out, soon ridden and weakened, tailed off
keen, chased leaders, mistake 5th, weakened approaching 4 out, behind and pulled up before next
held up in last pair, weakened 6th, soon behind, tailed off
led until ridden before 3 out, weakened soon after, tailed off
Winning pointer Minella For Steak returned from a lengthy absence to score at Folkestone on his hurdling debut. He has obvious scope for further progress but it's a worry that runner-up Old Dreams did nothing for the form next time and we'd rather stick with SEEDSMAN, who is more battle-hardened and did well to beat an in-form rival in a Lingfield handicap last month. The going here won't be a problem and he should stay the extra. Bucking The Trend was flying too high at Ascot last time but warrants respect on an earlier victory at Stratford and won't fail through lack of stamina. It will be a surprise if the other four can get competitive.
Bucking The Trend 6-1 (11-3) Held up behind in touch, headway 3 out, chased leaders before next, ridden and no impression between last 2, 5th of 8, 22l behind Easter Day (11-3) at Ascot 2m 6f nh nov hdl (2) sft in Nov.
Minella For Steak (IRE) 6-4fav (10-12) Took keen hold, with leader, disputed from 4th, led 7th until went left and hit 3 out, led again on long run to last, joined and driven last, stayed on strongly to assert final 100 yards, won at Folkestone 2m 4f nh nov hdl (4) sft beating Old Dreams (10-2) by 2 1/2l, 9 ran.
Seedsman 8-1 (11-1) Mid-division on inside, tracked leaders after 3 out, challnged when not much room next, soon ridden and every chance, stayed on to lead near finish, won at Lingfield 2m hcp hdl 0-120 (4) hvy in Nov beating Dormouse (11-8) by 1/2l, 10 ran.
Ballyduag (IRE) 28-1 (10-9) Tracked leaders in 3rd, ridden after 4 out, a remote 4th and weakened from 3 out, 4th of 7, 36l behind Woodford County (10-12) at Towcester 3m nh nov hdl (4) sft.
Brassbound (USA) 9-2fav (9-0) Rear of mid-division, ridden 2f out, not clear run inside final furlong, kept on close home, 7th of 14, 6l behind Ansgar (9-6) at Dundalk 1m 3f hcp 60-90 pol in Oct (flat).
Brass Monkey (IRE) 66-1 (11-0) Held up, ridden and weakened 2 out, 8th of 10, 39l behind Ericht (10-4) at Fakenham 2m 4f NH mdn hdl (5) sft.
Tully Roe (IRE) 50-1 (11-0) Towards rear, not fluent 2nd, headway approaching 6th, ridden next, weakened 2 out, 7th of 18, 23l behind Superior Quality (11-0) at Warwick 2m 5f mdn hdl (4) sft.
