hit 1st and 2nd, led until 3rd, prominent, hit 4th, ridden and weakened after 7th
held up, blundered 2nd, hit 5th, headway after 6th, ridden after 7th, one pace
chased leaders, ridden to lead well after 7th, clear last, readily
held up, took closer order approaching 7th, ridden to go 2nd approaching last, kept on same pace, no chance with winner
held up in touch, not much room after 7th, soon ridden, weakened quickly, pulled up before last
Mrs Philip was an improving mare last season, goes well fresh and is fancied to land this race on her reappearance; of the rest, Doof could be just about the pick of Martin Pipe's runners, despite the jockey bookings. Yourman has been largely disappointing since winning at Chepstow last year, and although Timmy Murphy rides this for David Johnson, Gerry Supple had earlier ridden Doof to victory over course and distance on heavy ground and , back on a more favourable surface it would be no surprise to see Doof fare best of the two Pipe runners here. Jonjo O'Neill's Mac Hine would have a major chance on some of his chase form, but was disappointing on his return to hurdles at Southwell recently and Mrs Philip looks a much better prospect here. Still relatively lightly-raced over hurdles, she won two of her last three starts last season, culminating with a career best effort at Taunton. Mrs Philip appears to be at her best when fresh, seems to cope with most ground conditions and off just a two pounds higher mark is taken to score again here.
Doof (IRE) 9-2 (11-0) Led and soon well clear, ridden and headed after 3 out, soon outpaced, kept on flat, 4th of 14, 15l behind Angie's Double (10-7) at Southwell 2m 5f nov sll hdl (G) gd in Jul.
Yourman (IRE) 5-2fav (10-13) Held up towards rear, ridden after 8th, weakened 3 out, 7th of 11, 48l behind Doof (10-8) at N Abbot 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-125 (D) gd in Apr.
Baloo 11-2 (11-0) Chased leaders, ridden approaching 6th, kept on same pace, 4th of 7, 9l behind Mr Fluffy (11-5) at N Abbot 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-120 (D) gf in Jun.
Irishkawa Bellevue (FR) 40-1 (11-0) Ridden after 4th, always behind, tailed off, 11th of 15, well behind Blue Hawk (10-3) at Worcester 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-110 (E) gd in Jun.
Mac Hine (IRE) 4-1 (11-5) Behind, headway 6th, ridden approaching 2 out, soon weakened, 6th of 14, 19l behind Brigadier Benson (11-3) at Southwell 2m 5f nov hcp hdl 0-105 (E) gd in Apr.
Mrs Philip 7-2 (11-3) Held up, headway to track leaders at 6th, ridden approaching last, stayed on well under strong pressure to lead final strides, won at Taunton 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-105 (E) gf in Mar beating Royal Prodigy (11-2) by a shd, 7 ran.
