keen hold, lead approaching 4th, mistake 8th, blundered and headed 13, soon weakened
tracked leaders, led 13th, driven out
held up, headway 12th, ridden and every chance 3 out, hit 2 out, weakened last
held up, headway 12th, ridden and every chance when mistake 2 out, stayed on one paced
led to 4th, stayed prominent, weakened 12th
A course and distance winner last week, it is difficult to oppose Suspendid who has solid claims of following up under a 7lb penalty. Richard Lee's gelding needs the ground to be no softer than good to show his best form and, now that the ground has turned in his favour, the son of Yashgan has been brought back by his handler after a two month break around the new year. Having shown improvement with each of his starts since then, it came as no surprise to see the 10-year-old win last time when having Idealko, who is held, nine lengths back in third place. Aye Surely looks to have plenty of weight for what he has achieved recently and, while Merry Minstrel has claims on the form shown when winning at Plumpton in September and when second at Cheltenham two months later, Charlie Mann's gelding disappointed on his only subsequent outing. Not seen since then, he is probably best watched, although the son of Black Minstrel could be interesting if fit enough as ground conditions suit. Thunderpoint faces a stiff task from 8lbs wrong in the weights.
