always prominent, led 3 out, headed next, stayed on flat, held by winner
tracked leaders, reminders after 7th and 12th, jumped right 4 out, weakened 3 out
prominent, not fluent, reminders 9th, weakened 4 out, tailed off
mid-division, not fluent 9th, headway next, driven before 4 out, weakened 3 out
in touch on inside, hit 8th, fell 10th
held up in rear, not particularly fluent and sometimes went left, hampered 10th, 7th and in touch 5 out, disputing 4th 3 out, soon weakened
held up towards rear on outside, jumped right, headway after 12th, led 2 out, stayed on well
made most until ridden and headed 3 out, 3rd and beaten last
It wouldn't be a surprise if River D'Or went close on his chasing debut. He hasn't raced for more than a year but Paul Nicholls will have got plenty of work into him at home and he was held in some regard in France a couple of years ago. But we like the look of BABYSITTER at the weights. Jonjo O'Neill's charge has been up against it in novice events so far but has won over this trip over hurdles and was just beaten off an 8lb higher mark over timber in a Grade 3 handicap at Sandown around this time last year. General Kutuzov won at Lingfield last month but may struggle under top weight in this while Handtheprizeover's wins have been against lesser company. Zazamix was third on his chasing debut at Kempton but hasn't looked an easy ride on occasions and just as interesting is the unexposed Kingsmere.
General Kutuzov (IRE) 5-1 (11-0) Chased leader, led on inside before 3rd, ridden and narrowly headed before 3 out, stayed challenging, led again 2 out, driven clear from last, won at Lingfield 2m 4f beg chase (5) sft in Feb beating Spear Thistle (11-0) by 5l, 7 ran.
Frontier Dancer (IRE) 8-1 (11-4) Tracked leader, not fluent 7th, ridden 12th, weakened before 3 out, 5th of 6, 34l behind Rougham (11-2) at Ascot 2m 3f nov ltd hcp chs 0-135 (3) gs in Jan.
Zazamix (FR) 15-8 (11-0) Jumped novicey, not fluent 1st, led next, narrowly headed 4th until led next, headed 7th, led again 9th, ridden and headed 3 out, chased winner and every chance until held before last, no impression and lost 2nd close home, 3rd of 5, 6l behind American Trilogy (11-0) at Kempton 2m 4f beg chase (4) gd in Feb.
River D'or (FR) 7-2fav (11-4) Held up in rear, pushed along after 4th, headway 3 out, soon weakened, tailed off, 7th of 11, well behind Clova Island (11-2) at Kempton 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-135 (3) sft in Feb '10.
Federstar (GER) 10-1 (10-9) Disputed 2nd on inside, lost place briefly 10th, stumbled 12th, outpaced 4 out, ridden to chase leading pair after next, kept on same pace under pressure from 2 out, no impression, 3rd of 5, 8l behind Stoney's Treasure (10-12) at Warwick 3m nov chs 0-115 (4) hvy in Feb.
Kingsmere 5-1 (11-5) Held up behind in touch, steady headway and in touch 9th, joined leader 4 out, ridden and effort approaching 2 out, 2 lengths down in 2nd last, rallied and every chance flat, just held near finish, 2nd of 10, shd behind Pie At Midnight (11-0) at Bangor 3m nov hcp 0-115 (4) gs in Feb.
Babysitter (IRE) 3-1 (10-12) Jumped left and not fluent, chased leading pair until 5th, weakened approaching 2 out, went 3rd flat, 3rd of 5, 30l behind William's Wishes (11-8) at Hereford 2m nov chs (3) sft in Jan.
Meet The Critics (IRE) 11-1 (11-0) Led, ridden after 3 out, headed flat, no extra and demoted to 4th towards finish, 4th of 7, 4l behind Gambo (10-13) at Worcester 2m 4f mdn hdl (4) gd in Sep.
Handtheprizeover 5-1 (11-2) Tracked leaders, lost place 4th, rallied 2 out, hampered last, challenged flat, stayed on under pressure to lead near finish, won at Leicester 2m 4f hcp chs 0-105 (4) gd in Feb beating Phar Again (10-12) by hd, 9 ran.
