held up, headway 6th, went 2nd after 3 out, led and hit 2 out, driven out flat
tracked leader, ridden and hit 3 out, soon weakened
tracked leaders, went 2nd 6th, ridden approaching 2 out, one pace
held up towards rear, headway after 3 out, not fluent next, soon weakened
held up, ridden after 3 out, no impression after
in touch, headway approaching 7th, ridden after 3 out, soon weakened
tracked leaders, lost place 5th, tailed off from 3 out
held up in rear, ridden and headway approaching 2 out, chased winner last, kept on
A tricky contest this one, but standing dish here at Market Rasen, Ei Ei may just be good enough to outpoint Xellance and land another course win. Equally adept over either fences or hurdles here, Michael Chapman's gelding loves the place, gets the trip and likes decent ground, so he has plenty in his favour. This quicker ground also suits his front-running style, as shown when he landed a Cartmel handicap hurdle over 2m 2f last time out and with a useful 3lb claimer on board he can score. Xellance receives 3lb from the selection but is not nearly as well in on official ratings, despite successive Newton Abbot wins over 2m 6f in his last two outings. A thoroughly consistent sort, he looks sure to be the one for the forecast, though this is very much his minimum trip and the course specialist is just preferred. Aston Mara won over course and distance here in June but was a long way behind Ramblees Holly at Sedgefield last time and may have to give best to that rival again despite being 2lb worse off. Even so, the one they all have to beat is our selection Ei Ei.
