held up, not always fluent, went 4th 13th, went 3rd before 3 out, no impression on front pair, fell 2 out
tracked leader, led 5th, headed next, led 12th, hit 3 out and headed, rallied last, led close home
led, not fluent 2nd, headed 5th, led approaching 11th, mistake and headed next, weakened before 3 out, left 3rd 2 out
tracked leaders, went 2nd 4 out, led 3 out, headed close home
tracked leaders, took keen hold, not much room 1st, went 2nd after 5th, led next, not fluent and jumped right 8th and 10th, headed before 11th, mistake next, weakened 13th
Balding Banker and Silas Mariner look out of this on today's terms and overall form. Only 2lb separates the remaining quartet on official ratings and of them, GROVE PRIDE has the best recent form when beaten a length by Ballyoliver at Ludlow in February. Henry Daly's charge gets the nod ahead of Red Not Blue, the winner of two of his three starts over fences and who should have come on for a recent pipe-opener in an all-weather bumper. Rose Of The Moon and Forgotten Gold are struggling at present but neither are easily dismissed as both are good enough to land this if back to their best.
Red Not Blue (IRE) 9-1 (11-0) Tracked winner, ridden over 2f out, no extra and lost 2nd place inside final furlong, 3rd of 8, 19l behind Masterful Act (11-0) at Southwell 2m n h flat (4) std in Mar.
Forgotten Gold (IRE) 14-1 (11-7) Led, jumped right 8th, headed when not fluent next, 8th and beaten when blundered 2 out, 9th of 20, 22l behind Rajdhani Express (11-7) at Cheltenham 2m 4f Listed Novice Handicap Chase (0-140) (5yo+) (1) sft in Mar.
Grove Pride 7-2fav (11-0) Led, not fluent 6th, jumped right next, headed 4 out, every chance thereafter, held towards finish, 2nd of 9, 1l behind Ballyoliver (10-10) at Ludlow 3m hcp chs 0-140 (3) gs in Feb.
Balding Banker (IRE) 11-2 (11-12) In rear, some headway before 4 out, never dangerous, 10th of 11, 48l behind Oil Burner (10-2) at Carlisle 2m 5f nov hcp chs 0-120 (4) gd in Mar.
Silas Mariner (IRE) 40-1 (11-0) Tracked leaders, outpaced 5 out, weakened and behind 3 out, last of 5, 37l behind Empire Levant (11-0) at Doncaster 2m 3f nov chs (3) gd in Mar.
Rose Of The Moon (IRE) 12-1 (11-6) Tracked leaders, hampered and lost place 18th, soon outpaced, not recover and pulled up before 21st, in a race won by Back In Focus (11-6) at Cheltenham 4m am nov chs (2) gs in Mar, 16 ran.
