held up, tracked leaders halfway, outpaced from 4 out
in rear, hit 7th, headway 14th, one pace when stumbled 3 out
tracked leaders, pushed along 9th, ridden approaching 3 out, led last, kept on well
held up, unseated rider 2nd
chased leaders, reminders 8th, led 5 out, headed and jumped right last, one pace
led, headed 5 out, soon lost place
tracked leaders, reminders 12th, lost place next, behind when pulled up before 3 out
Dad's Lad can beat the topweight Interdit, with Strong Magic and Shining Lights providing the main opposition. The 10-year-old Dad's Lad has bags of stamina, as proved by his success over the course and distance last December. He has since added to that, with a game win at Ascot in January, and will be all the better for his encouraging return to action at Stratford recently. Second that day, he looks poised to go one better off a decent mark, and the fact that he goes well right-handed adds to our confidence. Interdit is another real slogger who has been in fair form of late, but he appears to be too high in the weights at present and is worth taking on. Strong Magic carries a seven-pound penalty for an easy success at Southwell, but the 12-year-old may struggle to find more improvement, and a bigger danger may be Shining Lights who was still in bumper company eight months ago. Still only five, his fourth over fences to Colourful Life has been franked since, and although relatively inexperienced, he should pay to follow as time goes on. On this occasion though, Dad's Lad is the one to be on.
