held up in rear, pushed along after 9th, soon weakened
chased leader, led approaching 4 out, ridden approaching last, ran on
held up in touch, hit 3rd, headway and mistake 4 out, ridden after next, now extra flat
held up, headway 9th, went 2nd 2 out, soon ridden, not quicken flat
led to approaching 4 out, weakened after next
Today's feature race on the card can go the way of Amarula Ridge ahead of Lindsay, L'Oiseau and Harry Potter. Amarula Ridge kept good company over hurdles, mixing it with the likes of Penzance in Graded company, and he was a creditable eighth in the Listed Fred Winter Hurdle at Cheltenham in March. Therefore it came as no surprise when he duly made a winning start to his chase career at Doncaster in December, coming out on top despite a blunder at the final fence. Philip Hobbs's five-year-old was then sent to Wetherby to continue his education, and after travelling well throughout, it was the soft ground that beat him as much as anything as he finished fourth behind Vigoureux. The forecast good going here will be sweet music to the ears of connections, and he can get back to winning ways. Lindsay has won twice over fences since coming over from France and will be a threat, although he is creeping up the weights now. L'Oiseau was pulled up at Wincanton in November and has been off since. He too looks a shade high in the weights at present, while Harry Potter can at least boast course-and-distance form but needs to step up a gear. With that in mind, we take Amarula Ridge to stamp his class on this small field.
L'Oiseau (FR) 13-2 (11-12) Held up in touch, ridden and weakened 8th pulled up 4 out in race won by Roofing Spirit (11-1) at Wincanton 2m hcp chs 0-115 (D) gd in Nov, 5 ran.
Lindsay (FR) 12-1 (11-2) Mid-division, headway 11th, 6th and no chance when hit 4 out, 5th of 16, 21l behind Rubberdubber (11-8) at Newbury 2m 2f hcp chs 0-120 (3) gs in Jan.
Amarula Ridge (IRE) 9-2 (11-4) Held up in touch, headway 3 out, soon one pace, 4th of 6, 10l behind Vigoureux (10-7) at Wetherby 2m nov hcp chs 0-125 (3) sft in Jan.
Harry Potter (GER) 16-1 (10-2) Always towards rear, mistake 3 out, 9th of 11, 23l behind Palua (11-10) at Ludlow 2m hcp chs 0-135 (3) gd in Jan.
Imperial Rocket (USA) 80-1 (10-11) Chased leaders, ridden approaching 4 out, every chance 2 out, weakened last, 3rd of 9, 13l behind Norma Hill (10-1) at Ludlow 2m beg chs (4) gf in Jan.
