held up, took keen hold, hampered 1st, headway after 2nd, went 2nd 4th until next, hanging right from before 2 out, not much room and switched left after 2 out, switched left and still hanging right after last, went 2nd close home
held up in rear, not fluent 4th, headway approaching 2 out, soon ridden and no impression, well beaten last
led, jumped slowly 1st, headed next, tracked leader until 4th, ridden and weakening when mistake 2 out
tracked leaders, led 2nd, clear 3rd until not fluent next, ridden approaching 2 out, edged left after 2 out, stayed on
with leader, jumped slowly 1st, lost place after next, mistake and weakened 6th, tailed off
jumped left, chased leaders, very slow 1st, went 2nd 5th, switched right approaching 2 out where mistake, soon edged right, stayed on same pace flat, lost 2nd close home
TRAITOR was flying too high in a Grade 2 at Cheltenham last time having only won a modest maiden hurdle at Ludlow on his first start for Evan Williams. This is another uninspiring contest, however, and the ex-Andre Fabre inmate should be good enough to resume winning ways. Malanos was very green on debut at Leicester but still managed to get the better of three very poor rivals. He can only improve but a penalty will make life tougher here, though he's still preferred to the very one-paced Rasam Aldaar. Zamina won three times on the Flat and is the one most likely to profit should those with experience falter.
Malanos (IRE) 6-1 (10-9) Held up in rear and in touch, took keen hold, jumped slow 4 out, headway and not fluent 3 out, headway to challenge and hung right before 2 out, led last, kept on well, won at Leicester 2m 3yo hdl (4) gd in Nov beating Galloping Queen (10-2) by 4 1/2l, 4 ran.
Traitor 28-1 (11-2) Held up in rear, took keen hold, some headway 3 out, soon shaken up, ridden after 2 out, never near leaders, 6th of 9, 14l behind Hinterland (11-6) at Cheltenham 2m 3yo hdl (1) gs in Nov.
Novel Dancer 8-1 (10-6) Held up towards rear, headway before 4f out, pushed along before 3f out, kept on same pace, 5th of 13, 2 3/4l behind Baan (10-4) at Lingfield 1m 4f amat hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Nov (flat).
Rasam Aldaar 5-2 (10-9) Held up, not fluent 3rd, headway when not fluent next, ridden after 3 out, closed when not much room on landing last, every chance flat, held close home, 2nd of 6, 1 1/4l behind Unex Picasso (10-12) at Huntingdon 2m 3yo hdl (4) gd in Nov.
Target Score 40-1 (10-12) Held up in rear, srtuggling when mistake 3 out, tailed off and pulled up soon after, in a race won by Dark And Dangerous (10-12) at Sandown 2m 3yo hdl (4) sft in Nov, 9 ran.
Zamina (IRE) 11-4 (9-0) Soon tracked leader, ridden 2f out, one pace, 3rd of 5, 3 1/2l behind Junoob (8-13) at Kempton 1m 4f 3yo clm stks (6) pol in Nov (flat).
