led, ridden after 3 out, headed next, kept on but no extra close home
held up and never dangerous
jumped left 1st and 2nd, held up, headway 5th, soon ridden, left remote 3rd, 2 out
held up in touch, headway approaching 5th, ridden and weakened after 3 out
always behind, tailed off
chased leaders, went 2nd approaching 5th, driven out, ridden to lead 2 out, hit last
held up in touch, headway approaching 5th, ridden and weakened after 3 out, left poor 4th next
Ludlow winner Cossack Dancer sets a decent standard here but may struggle to follow up his success there under a penalty in a warm looking contest and preference is for the hurdling newcomer Morson Boy, who gets the vote ahead of the consistent Countess Point. The last mentioned had some solid form in bumpers last season and put up an encouraging debut over hurdles when finding just Cherokee Bay too good at Folkestone earlier this month. With improvement to come for that experience, she has to be respected, along with Headliner, an unraced son of Topanoora, who represents the owner/trainer/jockey combination of Johnson/Pipe/Murphy that has been in such good from of late. Jonjo O'Neill's New Zealand import Stonewall George has given little sign of encouragement so far and may need more time so a bigger threat may come from Jimmy Frost's Dmitri, an 84-rated miler on the flat at his best. The vote though goes to Morson Boy. Rated in the 90s on the level when with Mark Johnston, the son of Lear Fan is the type to make a decent hurdler and is with the right trainer to do so. Sure to have been well schooled, Morson Boy is given the vote to make a winning start to his hurdling career.
