tracked leader, left in lead 3rd, headed 7th, jumped right and led narrowly 9th, clear when jumped right 2 out, kept on well
led, jumped badly left and blundered 1st, rider lost irons, unseated next
tracked leaders in 3rd, went 2nd at 5th, led 7th, headed narrowly 9th, ridden after 3 out, jumped right next soon beaten and eased when lost 2nd approaching last
tracked winner until 5th, reminders approaching 9th, soon outpaced, stayed on to chase winner approaching last, held run-in
A four runner novice chase is next on the agenda and even with such a small field it looks a tricky race but the vote goes to COCKNEY TRUCKER ahead of Lady An Co. The selection is by fair and away the best horse in this field but his jumping of fences has been very poor. In all his races he has made plenty of mistakes and will need to cut those out to win here. He has jumped poorly at the conventional tracks with stiff fences and we are hoping this type of track with easy fences will allow him to get off the mark. Lady An Co represents a top stable and is a horse on the up. She won nicely on his latest start and that form has been franked. If Cockney Trucker does not jump well enough, this mare will go to score. King Caine and Simarian will do well to win here today but the latter is interesting as he was a decent type over hurdles. However, we will return to Cockney Trucker in the hope his jumping improves.
Cockney Trucker (IRE) 8-11fav (10-12) Close up, mistake 1st, tracking winner when mistake 4th, blundered and fell next, in a race won by King Edmund (11-8) at Ascot 2m 1f nov chs (3) gd in Apr, 5 ran.
King Caine (IRE) 20-1 (11-0) Jumped left, last after 4th, tailed off when pulled up before 8th, in a race won by King's Forest (11-0) at Taunton 2m 3f beg chase (4) gs in Feb, 6 ran.
Lady An Co (FR) 6-5fav (10-4) Tracked leading pair, mistake 2nd and 5th, went 2nd 2 out, shaken up to lead last, ran on comfortable, won at Taunton 2m beg chase (4) gf in Mar beating West With The Wind (11-0) by 2 1/2l, 5 ran.
Simarian (IRE) 50-1 (11-5) Mid-division, mistake 4th, lost place 3 out, soon weakened, 14th of 24, 29l behind Pause And Clause (11-10) at Cheltenham 2m 4f hcp (2) sft in Mar.
