held up towards rear, headway chasing leaders over 2f out, stayed on inside final furlong, pressing for 2nd, no chance with winner
steadied and switched left start, held up in last pair, headway near side edging left over 1f out, plugged on inside final furlong
switched left start, held up towards rear never involved
held up towards rear, headway out wide turning in, went 2nd inside final 2f, ridden to lead over 1f out, stayed on well to go clear final furlong
slowly away, soon mid-division out wide, chased leaders after 2f, led after 4f until 9f out, chased leader until over 4f out, weakened rapidly, tailed off
never closer than mid-division
mid-division, headway on inside over 2f out, wandered and weakened over 1f out
led 4f, tracked leader, led again 9f out, went clear 3f out, reduced lead 2f out, ridden and headed over 1f out, no chance with winner, kept on for 2nd
keen towards rear of mid-division, headway out wide chasing leaders 3f out, ridden inside final 2f, weakened over 1f out
pulled hard and prominent early, soon steadied mid-division, pushed along 4f out, soon lost place, tailed off
chased leaders on inside, weakened quickly inside final 3f, tailed off
tracked leaders, went 2nd over 4f out, pushed along over 3f out, ridden and lost 2nd inside final 2f, soon weakened
held up in rear, plugged on past weakening rivals, never a factor
NonRunner
Chef De Troupe beat Bird For Life in a similar contest at Wolverhampton last May and also won over hurdles in the autumn but he might need this. Successful twice over hurdles since November, KISS MY FACE has carried that improvement over to the all-weather. Second here in February, he then went one better at Newcastle and this is a modest affair. King Charles looks held on the form book but the returning Easter Icon is worth a second look. Alchemystique was second at Newcastle after a lay-off but doesn’t stand much racing.
Alchemystique (IRE) 33-1 (9-3) Midfield, keen, headway travelling well 2f out, joined leaders over 1f out, ran on, 2nd of 9, 1 3/4l behind Bobby Shaftoe (9-3) at Newcastle 2m hcp (6) pol in Mar.
Bird For Life 9-1 (9-6) Restrained in rear, pushed along over 3f out, plugged on over 1f out, 5th of 7, 5 1/2l behind Rock Chant (9-11) at Wolverhampton 2m 1f hcp (6) pol in Mar.
Twilight Prince 33-1 (8-13) Led, headed and remained prominent after 5 furlongs, ridden over 3f out and weakened quickly, tailed off, 8th of 10, dist behind Byron Hill (10-0) at Ffos Las 2m hcp (5) gd in Sep.
Kiss My Face 4-1 (9-1) Midfield, ridden and headway 3f out, led 1f out, ran on well, won at Newcastle 2m hcp (6) pol in Mar beating Zephlyn (9-1) by 1 3/4l, 9 ran.
Bobba Tee 14-1 (9-8) In rear of mid-division, pushed along over 2f out, soon ridden along and made no impression, weakened, 6th of 7, 5 1/4l behind Habanero Star (9-9) at Southwell 1m 3f hcp (6) pol in Mar.
Chef De Troupe (FR) 3-1 (11-0) Jumped right at times, chased leader, led after 3 out, soon clear, easily, won at Huntingdon 2m (5) gd in Oct beating Willa (10-3) by 9 1/2l, 5 ran.
Gustav Holst (IRE) 15-2 (9-1) Chased leader on inside, pushed along 4f out, no extra inside final furlong, 6th of 9, 4l behind Medrara (9-7) at Chelmsford City 1m 2f hcp (6) pol in Mar.
Easter Icon 20-1 (9-1) Held up in touch, improved over 3f out, stayed on same pace final 2f, 4th of 12, 5 1/4l behind Bird For Life (9-6) at Wolverhampton 2m 1f hcp (6) pol in Oct.
Buford 11-1 (9-3) Prominent, shaken up ove 2f out, switched right around rivals over 1f out, soon went second and every chance, ran on inside final final furlong, no match for winner, 2nd of 10, 1l behind Miss Sligo (9-3) at Wolverhampton 1m 4f stks (6) pol in Mar.
Broughtons Mission 50-1 (9-3) Prominent, dropped to 3rd over 8f out, weakened over 2f out, 6th of 7, 14 1/2l behind Sausalito (10-1) at Lingfield 1m 4f stks (6) pol in Mar.
Penelopeblueyes (IRE) 50-1 (9-2) Led, headed over 2f out, ridden along over 1f out and no extra, weakened, 7th of 9, 12l behind Breguet Boy (9-2) at Newcastle 1m 2f stks (6) pol in Mar.
Easter Sundae 100-1 (8-12) Soon led, pushed along 3f out, ridden and headed over 1f out, weakened final furlong, last of 9, 8 3/4l behind Zuckerberg (9-10) at Southwell 2m hcp (6) pol in Dec.
Proud Warrior (IRE) 100-1 (8-6) Off the pace in 5th, dropped to 6th 5f out, stayed on in 4th between horses inside final furlong, never dangerous, 4th of 8, 8l behind Rock Chant (9-6) at Lingfield 2m hcp (6) pol in Mar.
King Charles (USA) 10-1 (9-2) Held up rear of mid-division, driven 3f out, kept on inside final furlong, never dangerous, 6th of 8, 4 1/4l behind Bascinet (9-9) at Wolverhampton 1m 6f hcp (6) pol in Mar.
