went prominent 3rd, led 8th, clear next, cantered
held up and keen early, pecked 5th, well behind from next, tailed off when pulled up after 3 out
not fluent 5th, always behind
prominent, went moderate 2nd and not fluent 3 out, weakened last
led until 2nd, prominent until weakened 9th, tailed off and pulled up before 2 out
held up in touch, headway 5th, went moderate 2nd 9th until approaching 3 out, weakened quickly, tailed off when pulled up before 2 out
led 2nd, headed 8th, no chance from next
behind, jumped slowly 4th, some headway approaching 9th, never dangerous
Numitas holds an outstanding chance here, with Fast Cindy, Twice As Good and Hi Rudolf looking best of the rest. The selection has won twice over hurdles this season after shown a decent level of form last time around, which included finishing sixth in a Grade 2 hurdle at the Aintree festival. Quite simply, his form is streets ahead of the opposition and, even though he is conceding fifteen pounds and more to the field, he ought to win. Hi Rudolf, a dual chase winner, Twice As Good, a fairly lightly-raced 10-year-old maiden who has shown the odd bit of form, and Fast Cindy, who showed a bit of form on the flat and now makes her hurdling debut, look best of the others but the solid selection is Numitas.