led, fell 5th
held up in last pair, left in 5th place at 5th, left disputing close 3rd 8th, plugged on run-in
tracked leader, fell 2nd
held up in last pair, left in 4th and slightly hampered 5th, left disputing close 3rd at 8th, outright 3rd 4 out, went 2nd before 2 out until ridden and blundered last, plugged on
jumped right at times, held up in 5th, left 4th and slightly hampered 2nd, left 3rd at 5th, went 2nd next, left in lead 8th, made rest, clear before 2 out, stayed on well
tracked leading pair, awkward 1st, left 2nd next, left in lead 5th, fell 8th
tracked leaders, left in 3rd place 2nd, left 2nd 5th, dropped to 3rd next, left 2nd and slightly hampered 8th, dropped to 3rd before 2 out, 2nd again at the last, no chance with winner
NonRunner
Zanza steps into handicap company after just two runs over fences. He probably came up against a smart novice at Warwick last time in Allmankind so shouldn’t be underestimated. There are ground concerns surrounding Ibleo but he was unlucky not to make a winning reappearance at Ascot while a bad mistake at Cheltenham last time stopped Hatcher in his tracks and he may well reverse that form with eventual second Western Miller. The Russian Doyen wasn’t the only one who failed to handle desperate conditions in the Paddy Power and he’s a past winner over these fences but so is MOONLIGHTER and the top weight ran right up to his best form when just caught by Greaneteen in the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter at the start of the month. Marracudja isn’t really firing while The King Of May lacks a recent run.
Moonlighter 10-1 (10-8) Jumped left, led, 2 lengths ahead last, driven and headed close home, 2nd of 10, nk behind Greaneteen (11-3) at Exeter 2m 1f hcp (1) gd in Nov.
Hatcher (IRE) 14-1 (10-10) Held up towards rear, mistake 6th, ridden and progress before 2 out, outpaced after last, no extra, 7th of 13, 14 3/4l behind Rouge Vif (11-7) at Cheltenham 2m hcp (2) gd in Oct.
Western Miller (IRE) 66-1 (10-4) Held up in touch, not fluent 7th, pushed along and progress before 2 out, kept on well after last but no match for winner, 2nd of 13, 7 1/2l behind Rouge Vif (11-7) at Cheltenham 2m hcp (2) gd in Oct.
Marracudja (FR) 16-1 (10-10) Led 1st until after 2nd, chased leader, mistake 6th, soon lost 2nd, struggling from 8th, 7th of 8, 20 1/4l behind First Flow (11-1) at Ascot 2m 1f hcp (2) sft in Nov.
Zanza (IRE) 6-1 (11-1) Tracked leaders on inside, not fluent 6th, went right next, headway approaching 2 out, went 2nd at the last, no chance with winner, 2nd of 6, 13l behind Allmankind (10-7) at Warwick 2m (3) gd in Nov.
The Russian Doyen (IRE) 16-1 (10-6) Chased leaders on outside, went 2nd 10th, mistake next, not fluent and lost 2nd 12th, weakened before 3 out, pulled up before 2 out, at Cheltenham 2m 4f hcp (1) sft in Nov.
The King Of May (FR) 9-2 (11-4) Held up, mistake 4th, steady progress 9th, hard ridden to lead before last, driven out, won at Sedgefield 2m hcp (3) sft in Jan beating Theatre Legend (11-8) by 3/4l, 6 ran.
Ibleo (FR) 5-2fav (10-8) Towards rear, blundered 6th, headway 4 out, challenged 3 out, led next, joined flat, headed close home, 2nd of 7, shd behind Amoola Gold (10-8) at Ascot 2m 1f hcp lst (1) sft in Oct.
