tracked leader, challenged and hit 3 out, led well before 2 out, narrowly headed 2 out, beaten before last
led, hit 2nd, hit 3 out, headed well before 2 out, weakened quickly
tracked leading pair, went 2nd before 2 out, led 2 out, soon in command, pushed clear run-in
held up in rear, stayed on under pressure to take moderate 3rd 2 out
held up in 4th, some headway approaching 3 out, soon ridden and struggling
held up in 5th and off the pace, some headway approaching 3 out, weakened quickly before next
always last, blundered 4 out, tailed off when pulled up before 2 out
Pablo Du Charmil has to be respected having won his only two starts over hurdles in France but Martin Pipe's gelding has a double penalty for those successes and may struggle to concede 8lbs to dual bumper winner Its A Dream, who is preferred with another bumper recruit Schumann rated the best of the rest. The selection fulfilled his debut promise when landing a Folkestone bumper in decisive fashion before going on to beat a big field in a valuable contest at Punchestown. Nicky Henderson has his string in good order and it will be a surprise if Its A Dream has not been sufficiently well enough schooled to be good enough to beat these. Billyandi has shown promise over hurdles and should win races but this looks tough for him, while Laharna could be of interest dropping back to a more suitable trip but needs to improve. Nice Try and Reach For The Top are probably safely discounted and of more interest should be Mark Pitman's Schumann, who showed the benefit of his debut outing at Market Rasen when landing a bumper at Lingfield a month ago. He cannot be discounted on his hurdling debut but his bumper form does not match that of the selection Its A Dream, who gets the vote.
Pablo Du Charmil (FR) (10-3) Led 5 out, ran on strongly, won at Auteuil 2m 2f hdl in Oct beating Magnifico (10-3) by 3l, 17 ran.
Billyandi (IRE) 20-1 (10-7) Led, ridden 2 out, headed and not quicken towards finish, 2nd of 11, 1l behind Menchikov (11-0) at Ludlow 2m nh nov hdl (E) gd in Nov.
Its A Dream (IRE) 13-2 (11-11) Always prominent, 6th halfway, improved to dispute lead over 3f out, ridden clear early straight, stayed on strongly final furlong, won at Punchestown 2m nhf sft in Apr beating Virginia Preuil (11-0) by 4l, 25 ran.
Laharna 50-1 (10-12) Prominent, ridden and headway after 3 out, weakened 2 out, 6th of 12, 40l behind Denman (11-4) at Wincanton 2m 6f nov hdl (D) gd in Nov.
Nice Try (IRE) Won at Clonakilty 3m ptp gd in May '04 beating Waking Ned by 5l, 18 ran.
Reach For The Top (IRE) 50-1 (11-0) Took keen hold in touch, lost place 6f out, no danger after, 7th of 19, 16l behind Leading Contender (11-4) at Cheltenham 2m nhf lst (A) gs in Nov.
Schumann 11-8fav (11-4) Tracked leaders, hard ridden 3f out, kept on final furlong, won at Lingfield 2m nhf (H) gd in Oct beating Yufo (11-4) by 3/4l, 14 ran.
