held up on outside, chased leading pair 6th, outpaced 3 out, soon beaten, lost 3rd last
held up in touch, driven and outpaced approaching 3 out, soon weakened
held up in touch, weakened 3 out
tended to jump left, led to 2nd, chased winner 5th, ridden and outpaced approaching 2 out, kept on same pace, no impression
with leader, led 2nd, made rest, stayed on well from 2 out, comfortably
tracked leaders, lost place 6th, outpaced 3 out, stayed on to go remote 3rd last, no chance with leading pair
chased leaders to 5th, behind from next
FIN VIN DE LEU is no more than a hopeful choice in an intriguing contest where Alhaque and Blue Tango are sure to have their supporters. The selection plied his trade on the level with Mark Johnston and showed a reasonable level of form in finishing in the frame on over half of his career starts. He could be the right type to adapt to hurdling and it will be interesting to see how he gets on. Alhaque was a rogue on the level and it remains to be seen whether he'll prove to be any more tractable over obstacles. There was some encouragement to be taken from his hurdling bow but it would be a brave man that backs him to build on it. Blue Tango has shown ability but it was a little disappointing that he didn't fare better at Warwick in the week and of more interest may be the French import Stars Du Granits although Ludlow seller winner, Tesserae, can't be dismissed with improvement likely to be forthcoming. This could turn out to be a tight contest but we'll take a chance with Fin Vin de Leu.
Alhaque (USA) 33-1 (10-12) Held up, chased leaders 3 out, outpaced when hit next, soon ridden and no impression, 4th of 8, 12l behind Advisor (11-4) at Ascot 2m 4yo nov hdl (3) sft.
Blue Tango (IRE) 16-1 (11-0) Disputed 2nd until 4th, hit next, not fluent 3 out, soon weakened, 5th of 11, 23l behind Hunterview (10-11) at Warwick 2m Juvenile Maiden Hurdle (4yo) (4) sft.
Brad's Luck (IRE) 11-2 (10-12) Mid-division in chasing group, headway to chase winner 3 out until approaching 2 out, chased winner again soon after 2 out, kept on, no chance with easy winner, 2nd of 7, 30l behind Rougham (10-12) at Wincanton 2m 3yo nov hdl (4) hvy in Dec.
Fin Vin de Leu (GER) 10-3 (8-9) Tracked leaders, ridden 2f out, kept on same pace under pressure final furlong, no impression, 3rd of 6, 3 1/2l behind Blue Nymph (9-3) at Southwell 1m 6f hcp 0-85 (4) fbs in Oct (flat).
Stars Du Granits (FR) Robin Des Champs gelding out of Ile D'or.
Tesserae 5-1 (10-5) Mid-division, headway after 6th, ridden to lead flat, ran on, won at Ludlow 2m 3yo nov sll hdl (4) sft in Dec beating Hassadin (10-12) by 2l, 12 ran.
Seaquel 12-1 (8-0) Led, headed over 10f out, prominent until weakened quickly over 4f out, tailed off, 6th of 7, 50l behind Boundless Prospect (8-10) at Southwell 1m 6f clm stks (6) fbs (flat).
Extreme Impact 100-1 (11-0) Held up in rear, under pressure and struggling from 3rd, tailed off, last of 8, 47l behind Me Voici (11-0) at Chepstow 2m 3yo hdl Grd 1 (1) hvy in Dec.
