held up towards rear, headway before 5 out, every chance before 2 out, ridden before last, kept on and held towards finish
tracked leader until before 5th, mistake 6th, lost place 7th, soon tailed off
led, headed before 4 out, weakening when mistake 3 out
tracked leaders in 3rd, went 2nd before 5th, led 4 out, ridden before next, headed and weakened before 2 out
held up in rear, headway before 7th, led before 2 out, kept on well towards finish
SIMPLY NED looks a cut above these. He went close to following up an earlier win at Ayr when second at Haydock last month and Nicky Richards' charge will take the beating with a similar effort. Doynosaur's latest fourth over hurdles to Zaplamation reads well enough but she never figured on her chasing bow at Hexham before that. Supreme Asset was also beaten at Wetherby on his first start over fences but much better is expected from the dual hurdles winner with that experience under his belt, while Diamond D'amour scored over timber at Carlisle when last seen at the track but that was back in March last year and he may be best watched here.
Simply Ned (IRE) 9-4fav (11-0) Chased leaders, mistake 2nd, went 2nd 4 out, ridden to challenge when not fluent 2 out, kept on same pace, 2nd of 4, 3 1/2l behind Fago (11-7) at Haydock 2m 1f chs (2) sft in Nov.
Grey Shadow (IRE) 66-1 (11-3) Held up, not fluent 7th, in touch when not fluent 9th, mistake and struggling 12th, well beaten when not fluent 5 out, soon pulled up, in a race won by Mendip Express (10-12) at Wetherby 3m 1f nov chs (4) gs in Nov, 6 ran.
Pinerolo 17-2 (11-12) Held up mid-division, outpaced 3 out, kept on before last, went 4th run-in, 4th of 9, 14l behind Travis County (11-3) at Sedgefield 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-120 (4) gs.
Supreme Asset (IRE) 11-4 (11-0) Tracked leader, pecked 1st, led 3rd, headed 4 out, ridden before 3 out, weakened before 2 out, 3rd of 5, 26l behind Mwaleshi (10-9) at Wetherby 2m nov chs (4) gs in Nov.
Doynosaur 25-1 (10-10) Held up towards rear, headway before 2 out, ridden before last, no extra run-in, 4th of 13, 4l behind Zaplamation (10-4) at Wetherby 2m hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gs in Nov.
Diamond D'amour (IRE) 11-10fav (10-13) Led, soon clear, headed before 3 out, rallied to regain lead 2 out, mistake last, driven out, finished lame, won at Carlisle 2m 1f nh nov hdl (4) sft in Mar '12 beating Crescent Beach (11-0) by 1/2l, 10 ran.
