held up towards rear, ridden after 4 out, never dangerous
in touch, chased leaders 4th, led after 4 out, outpaced and headed next, kept on to take 4th towards finish
held up, headway 4 out, weakened approaching 3 out
led and raced keen, soon clear, headed after 4 out, soon weakened
in touch, ridden 3 out, stayed on from last
towards rear, weakened 4 out
chased leader, mistake 4th, weakened approaching 4 out
mid-division and keen, in 4th and one pace from 2 out
held up, weakened approaching 4 out
held up, headway 4 out, weakened 2 out
chased leaders, every chance approaching 2 out, weakened and lost 4th place flat
chased leaders, led 3 out, stayed on well from last
chased leaders, weakened 4th, tailed off and pulled up before 3 out
in touch, ridden approaching 3 out, weakened approaching next
Broadway Star has run well in both starts in bumpers and the Nicky Richards-trained gelding has to be of interest on his hurdling debut but NUMERO DUE sets a decent standard and he gets the verdict ahead of Waterloo Road. The last mentioned ran promisingly on his bumper debut here in November but disappointed on testing ground at Haydock subsequently; the return to a faster surface may help Howard Johnson's gelding. Malcolm Jefferson's Lord Larsson ran better on his most recent start in a Wetherby bumper but he would need to improve on that form to trouble the judge, while Sue Smith's Spare Days similarly has shown only limited ability in National Hunt flat races and needs to improve for the switch to hurdles. Dechiper was capable on the flat but takes to the winter game rather late in his career and it is hard to get away from Numero Due. George Moore's gelding was useful on the level and he created a favourable impression when making a winning debut over hurdles at Sedgefield last month.
Lindseyfield Lodge (IRE) 50-1 (11-5) Held up, keen, soon chasing leaders, led 2 out, headed approaching last, weakened flat, 6th of 11, 13l behind Hawksbury Heights (11-5) at Hexham 2m sll hdl (5) gs.
Numero Due 7-2 (11-0) Chased leaders, pushed along 4th, led after 3 out, under pressure 2 out, slowly last, stayed on under pressure all out, won at Sedgefield 2m 1f mdn hdl (4) gf in Sept beating Deadline (11-0) by a nk, 11 ran.
Ashover Rock (IRE) 100-1 (9-3) Race stand side, slow away, always behind, tailed off, last of 17, 41l behind Vital Equine (9-3) at Newcastle 6f 2yo mdn auc (6) gd in May '06 (Flat).
Bandos 150-1 (11-0) Pulled hard, led and soon clear until 5th, headed after 4 out, quickly weakened, 15th of 17, well behind Night Force (11-0) at Wetherby 2m mdn hdl (5) frm.
Broadway Star (FR) 10-3 (10-11) Tracked leaders, headway 4f out, led over 2f out, stayed on well entering final furlong, won at Musselburgh 2m nhf (6) gd in Dec beating Classic Moon (11-2) by 4l, 9 ran.
Dechiper (IRE) 12-1 (8-11) Towards rear, effort over 2f out, never dangerous, 7th of 12, 10l behind Bavarian Nordic (9-1) at Newcastle 1m 2f hcp 0-70 (5) hvy (Flat).
Fiftyfive Degrees (IRE) 7-2 (11-11) Led to 3rd, stayed prominent, led again 8th until after 10th and led again approaching 2 out, ridden and kept on from approaching last, won at Hexham 3m 1f mdn hts chs (6) hvy in Apr beating Overlady (11-4) by 3 1/2l, 9 ran.
Key To Caius (IRE) 150-1 (10-7) Tracked leaders and keen, wandered badly approaching 2nd and unseated rider at the 2nd in race won by Sienna Storm (10-7) at Cartmel 2m 1f mdn hdl (4) gs in Jul, 12 ran.
Lord Larsson 14-1 (10-11) Raced keenly mid-division, headway on outside 4f out, ridden and hung left final 2f, no impression, 4th of 11, 15l behind Clova Island (11-4) at Wetherby 2m nhf (6) gd in May.
Not Now Lewis (IRE) 28-1 (8-8) Chased leaders, weakened over 2f out, tailed off, last of 11, well behind Chookie Hamilton (9-4) at Musselburgh 1m 4f hcap (6) sft in Sept (Flat).
Platoon (FR) Le Triton gelding out of a lightly-raced mare.
Spare Days 8-1 (10-7) Tracked leaders, headway to lead over 3f out, headed over 2f out, kept on same pace, 4th of 10, 15l behind Cape Tribulation (10-7) at Market Rasen 2m 1f nhf (6) gd in Mar.
Spellchecker (IRE) 20-1 (10-11) Held up towards rear, headway 4f out, ridden and kept on final 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 5th of 14, 26l behind Strong Rebel (11-1) at Perth 2m nhf (6) gs in Sept.
Waterloo Road (IRE) 5-1 (11-0) Held up, headway 7f out, lost place 4f out, 9th of 19, well behind Charity Lane (10-4) at Haydock 2m nhf (6) sft in Dec.
Over The Odds 20-1 (10-9) Led briefly and tracked leader, left leader after 5f, headed over 4f out, ridden and soon weakened, 5th of 10, 26l behind Copper Sound (10-4) at Hexham 2m nhf (6) hvy in Apr.
Overthrow 10-1 (10-12) Tracked leaders, lost place over 4f out, last of 8, 42l behind Evelith Regent (10-9) at Catterick 2m nhf (6) sft in Feb.
