took keen hold, held up in bunch, not fluent 5th, lost place 7th, well behind after next, tailed off
held up in rear, not much room when stumbled on path after 1st, headway after 8th, ridden and pressing leaders 3 out, edged left and outpaced after next
tracked leader, not fluent 1st, ridden and dropped to 7th 3 out, plugged on after last
led, jumped left on occasions, not fluent 4th, ridden and headed before 3 out, no impression next, weakened flat
tracked leaders, hit 7th, ridden after 8th, no impression on leaders 2 out, plugged on from last
held up in bunch, jumped slowly 7th, closed next, well there when hit 3 out, no extra next, weakened, tailed off
held up in rear, headway 7th, jumped slowly 8th and lost place, rider lost iron briefly soon after, closed going well before 3 out and led before jumping right at hurdle, not fluent and went right 2 out and last, stayed on well, readily
held up in bunch, headway after 8th, chased winner and not much room after 3 out, hit next, stayed on but held flat
tracked leaders, not fluent 3rd, jumped slowly 8th, something amiss when pulled up soon after
Withdrawn
Morcambe ran a shocker at Bangor last month and is now tried in blinkers. They would have to bring about vast improvement for him to win this while Gortenbuie hasn't built on a promising fourth over C&D in November. Havingotascoobydo has shown promise in his first two starts over timber, however, and Niceonefrankie is worth another try over this longer trip. Lobby Ludd isn't overburdened on his handicap debut but we like the look of ALESANDRO MANTEGNA on this better ground. He's had a couple of runs to put him straight following a mid-winter break and his hurdles mark is 12lb lower than his chase rating.
Jay J 5-2 (11-2) Led, jumped right 3rd, 4th and 5th, hung left approaching 7th, ridden and headed before 3 out where mistake, soon weakened, 5th of 6, 32l behind Badgers Cove (10-12) at Ludlow 2m 5f NH nov hdl 4-6yo (4) gs in Nov.
Lexicon Lad (IRE) 7-1 (11-4) Held up in touch, badly hampered and unseated rider 3rd, in a race won by Sinbad The Sailor (11-4) at Ludlow 2m 5f mdn hdl (4) gd in Feb, 14 ran.
Morcambe 13-2 (11-5) Held up behind in touch, under pressure when reminders 8th, no headway, weakened 4 out, tailed off, 8th of 10, well behind Pie At Midnight (11-0) at Bangor 3m nov hcp 0-115 (4) gs in Feb.
Alesandro Mantegna (IRE) 40-1 (11-2) Tracked leader, challenged 2nd, led 6th, ridden and headed when hampered 3 out, weakened next, 5th of 14, 29l behind Maringo Bay (10-13) at Ffos Las 2m 4f NH nov hdl (4-7yo) (4) sft in Feb.
Niceonefrankie 20-1 (11-8) Mid-division, pushed along in 8th before 2 out, plugged on same pace after, 6th of 14, 20l behind Balerina (10-2) at Kempton 2m cond hcp hdl 0-1115 (4) gs in Feb.
Nosecond Chance (IRE) 25-1 (11-9) Mid-division, headway approaching 3 out, hampered on bend soon after, weakened last, 7th of 14, 20l behind Shalambar (10-13) at Warwick 2m nov hcp hdl 0-110 (4) gs in Feb.
Havingotascoobydo (IRE) 3-1 (10-12) Pulled hard in touch, led approaching 4 out, hit and headed next, soon weakened, 3rd of 12, 18l behind Victors Serenade (11-4) at Towcester 3m nov hdl (4) sft in Jan.
Gortenbuie (IRE) 50-1 (10-12) Towards rear, headway into mid-division after 4 out, one pace next, 7th of 16, 34l behind Filbert (10-12) at Exeter 2m 3f nov hdl (4) gs in Jan.
Lobby Ludd 15-2 (11-3) Tracked leader, not fluent 3d, lost 2nd when jumping slowly 5th, no impression on leaders approaching 2 out, weakening when not fluent last, 5th of 15, 22l behind Kells Belle (10-10) at Ludlow 2m mdn hdl (4) gd in Feb.
Peqeno Diablo (IRE) 100-1 (11-1) Mid-division, lost place before 6th, tailed off, 13th of 17, well behind Firm Order (11-8) at Sandown 2m 4f nov hcp hdl 0-120 (3) gd in Feb.
