chased leaders, disputed lead briefly before 2 out, soon headed, faded approaching last
midfield, pushed along after 3 out, ridden to challenge approaching last, stayed on well flat
held up in midfield, not fluent 3rd, headway before 3 out, kept on one pace from 2 out
midfield, not fluent 4th, disputed lead going well from 3 out, led 2 out, pushed along and headed before last, ridden flat, no extra final 100yds
raced keenly, prominent, disputed lead from 3 out, headed briefly 2 out, soon led, ridden after last, ran on well flat
raced keenly towards rear, awkward 3 out, made headway and pushed along before 2 out, kept on one pace from last
led at steady pace, headed after 5th, hit 7th, lost place and ridden before 2 out, stayed on one pace from last
held up in midfield, pushed along before 3 out, weakened before 2 out
prominent, awkward 4th, dropped to rear 8th, struggling before 3 out
raced keenly, held up in rear, made rapid headway to lead after 5th and upped the pace, headed 3 out, weakened and eased before 2 out
Paisley Park’s winning run came to an end behind Lisnagar Oscar in the Stayers’ Hurdle in March but he won this last year on his reappearance, though had to be ridden out to get the better of Thistlecrack. Summerville Boy also carries a Grade 2 penalty having won the Relkeel Hurdle at Cheltenham at the start of the year but he proved his well-being at Aintree and shouldn’t be far away again. McFabulous is potentially a fly in the ointment having a first try over 3m while Thyme Hill won the Challow Hurdle here last season before finishing fourth in the Albert Bartlett. Shocks are not uncommon in this and HONEST VIC could be worth a speculative wager. He’s done nothing but improve over the last 18 months and was hugely impressive in a Cheltenham handicap on his return to action when producing another career-best. He’ll be a working man’s price and may have some scope at this level.
Lisnagar Oscar (IRE) 9-2 (11-6) Held up in midfield, headway on outside to press leader before 3 out, ridden to lead 2 out, headed before last, weakened flat, 4th of 8, 15l behind Roksana (10-7) at Wetherby 3m (1) sft in Oct.
Paisley Park (IRE) 4-6fav (11-10) Mid-division, headway before 7th, pushed along briefly after 3 out, hit 2 out, unable to quicken when hampered home bend, weakened final 100 yards, 7th of 15, 14 1/2l behind Lisnagar Oscar (11-10) at Cheltenham 3m (1) sft in Mar.
Summerville Boy (IRE) 10-3 (11-4) Prominent, not fluent 7th or 3 out, ridden 2 out, led before last, soon headed, led again 120 yards out, driven out, won at Aintree 2m 4f (2) gs in Nov beating Ch'tibello (10-12) by 1/2l, 6 ran.
McFabulous (IRE) 4-6fav (11-3) Jumped well, held up in touch on inside, smooth headway tracking leaders after 4th, went 2nd before good jump to lead 3 out, made rest and stayed on well, easily, won at Chepstow 2m 3f (1) gd in Oct beating Courtandbould (11-0) by 3l, 7 ran.
Thyme Hill 4-1fav (11-5) Mid-division on outside, headway and close up before 2 out, driven to challenge when not much room and switched left before last, ridden and every chance when not clear run again flat, kept on, held near finish, 4th of 19, 1 1/2l behind Monkfish (11-5) at Cheltenham 3m (1) sft in Mar.
Aux Ptits Soins (FR) 4-1 (11-10) Soon chased leaders, slight mistake 5th, 4th before 6th where not fluent, 5th before straight, soon effort, not fluent and slightly impeded last, kept on without matching principals run-in, 5th of 10, 3 3/4l behind Unowhatimeanharry (11-10) at Punchestown 3m (1) Good - Yielding in May.
Honest Vic (IRE) 12-1 (11-1) Towards rear of midfield, smooth headway to chase leaders 3 out, almost upsides 2 out, travels strongly to lead approaching last, pushed out, comfortably, won at Cheltenham 3m hcp (2) gd in Oct beating Lock's Corner (10-4) by 4l, 17 ran.
One Night In Milan (IRE) 15-2 (11-2) Close up, led 1st, awkward on bend and headed after 7th, blundered 8th, reminder 9th, ridden after 12th, lost ground 2 out, bad mistake last, kept on strongly flat, 2nd of 5, 2 1/2l behind Remastered (11-2) at Carlisle 2m 4f (3) hvy in Nov.
Sam Spinner 6-1 (11-3) Held up in touch, lost ground 5th, awkward 6th, pulled up before 7th, at Wetherby 3m (1) sft in Oct.
Vision Des Flos (FR) 8-1 (10-11) Chased leaders, went 2nd after 4th until before 4 out, mistake and weakened 3 out, 5th of 10, 17 1/4l behind Greaneteen (11-3) at Exeter 2m 1f hcp (1) gd in Nov.
