prominent, led 5th, headed 2 out, soon ridden, rallied gamely flat, held near finish
tracked leaders, disputed 2nd, mistake 12th, led 2 out, soon ridden, drifted right from last, all out
led until 5th, chased leader, lost touch after 19th, stayed on again to regain 3rd flat, no chance with leading pair
chased leaders, hit 8th, niggled along from 11th, went 3rd, mistake 19th, soon ridden, no impression on leading pair, lost 3rd flat
Nonrunner
Without A Doubt is the most reliable option here with doubts about most of the opposition. The selection has gone up by just 2lbs for his course and distance second to The Luder and is clearly well suited by this test although isn't obviously well handicapped and he has only one win to his name. This may represent his best opportunity of doubling his tally. Beau Michel was fortunate to finish second at Warwick and the blinkers he wore that day are discarded. He can't be ruled out but doesn't appear to be one to rely on on that evidence whilst stablemate Turthen broke a blood vessel last time and was engaged to run yesterday. Bubble Boy is capable but difficult to predict but Bowleaze faces a more realistic task here and that may help him return to form. Mokum is 16lbs higher than when winning his penultimate start and could struggle to complete his hat-trick. With doubts about most of the field, we'll take Without A Doubt.
Without A Doubt 5-1 (11-12) Prominent, led after 12th, not fluent 19th, ridden after 3 out, headed approaching last, kept on, 2nd of 6, 1 1/2l behind The Luder (11-6) at Sandown 3m hcp chs 0-135 (3) gd in Feb.
Bowleaze (IRE) 16-1 (10-0) Mid-division, mistake 11th, ridden and weakned 15th, tailed off, 10th of 13, 35l behind Vodka Bleu (10-3) at Ascot 3m lst hcp chs (1) gf in Dec.
Bubble Boy (IRE) 9-2 (11-8) Led until after 12th, hit 14th and next, weakened from 17th, 5th of 6, 35l behind The Luder (11-6) at Sandown 3m hcp chs 0-135 (3) gd in Feb.
Beau Michel (FR) 5-2 (11-1) Chased leaders, mistake 15th, ridden from 4 out, weakened after 3 out, left moderate 2nd last, 2nd of 5, 17l behind Beat The Boys (11-8) at Warwick 3m 2f nov chs (3) gs in Feb.
Turthen (FR) 13-2 (11-6) Mistakes, in rear, driven and struggling 10th, tailed off when pulled up 4 out in race won by Yardbird (10-13) at Kempton 3m hcp chs 0-140 (2) gs in Dec, 14 ran.
Mokum (FR) 7-2 (10-11) Held up in last trio, headway approaching 16th, chased leader 18th, 12 lengths 2nd and held when left clear 2 out, won at Sandown 3m hcp chs 0-125 (3) gd in Feb beating Yann's (10-13) by 10l, 8 ran.
