held up hit 5th, outpaced 4 out, soon took poor 4th
tracked leaders, went 2nd from 3rd, ridden 3 out, stayed on to regain 2nd towards finish
held up towards rear, weakened 4 out, pulled up before next, tailed off
held up, weakened from 4 out, tailed off and pulled up before last
held up and not jump well early, headway approaching 9th, shaken up to lead approaching last
led, ridden and headed approaching last, no extra when lost 2nd towards finish
with leader, weakened approaching 9th, tailed off from 4 out, pulled up before 2 out
Alfloramoor cannot be ignored from a smaller yard however preference is for BLUEGUN ahead of Blue Shark and Synchronised. The selection has the benefit of one run over fences before, when filling fourth place behind Hennessy at Folkestone. His jumping was hardly exceptional there but he looks sure to have learnt from it and this looks a more realistic proposition than the Aintree listed hurdle he contested last April. A winning point-to-pointer himself, his dam comes from the family of the decent Grange Leader, and he can make up into a decent novice chaser this season. Blue Shark was of a similar ilk over hurdles on official ratings; this son of Cadoudal has had his fair share of injury problems but he still has time on his side and he looks an interesting recruit to fences. Keen Warrior and Dermatologiste look modest, so of more interest is Victorias Groom. He is a course winner and although he wasn't as good as most of his rivals over hurdles, he has experience of fences and cannot be overlooked. Synchronised was beaten when falling at Cheltenham last March and he will need to show that his confidence is unaffected, however he looks another solid chasing debutant and he will have no ground concerns whatsoever. Alfloramoor can improve for the switch to chasing but he has a bit to prove on this ground, and so it is Bluegun who is taken to land the prize.
Alfloramoor 15-2 (11-8) Led, clear 5th, headed 2 out, soon weakened, 4th of 16, 17l behind Galaxy Rock (11-2) at Southwell 2m hcp hdl 0-105 (4) gd in Mar.
Bluegun (IRE) 50-1 (10-13) Prominent, mistake 6th, weakened approaching 8th, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out, in a race won by Sunnyhillboy (11-0) at Aintree 2m 4f Listed hcp hdl (1) gd in Apr, 22 ran.
Blue Shark (FR) 25-1 (10-6) Mid-division, hampered and lost place 7th, rear after, 17th of 22, well behind Kayf Aramis (10-5) at Cheltenham 3m lstd hcp hdl (1) gs in Mar.
Keen Warrior 50-1 (11-10) Held up towards rear, headway approaching 10th, blundered 12th, hung left after 3 out, stayed on same pace, 3rd of 14, 8l behind Apocalozzo (10-8) at Southwell 2m 4f hcp chs 0-100 (4) gd in Apr.
Synchronised (IRE) 9-1 (10-8) Mid-division, headway after 9th, squeezed out and lost place just after next, no better than mid-division when fell last, in a race won by Kayf Aramis (10-5) at Cheltenham 3m lstd hcp hdl (1) gs in Mar, 22 ran.
Victorias Groom (GER) 14-1 (11-2) Chased leader, weakened from 3 out, 6th of 10, 16l behind How's Business (11-4) at Uttoxeter 2m 4f hcp hdl (2) gd in May.
Dermatologiste 14-1 (10-2) Prominent, one pace 2 out, 3rd of 7, 15l behind Le Platino (10-12) at Haydock 2m 4f nov hdl (4) hvy.
