led, headed when mistake 4th, led briefly 10th, led again 15th, hit 17th, ridden 3 out, headed soon after, weakened flat
always behind, tailed off when pulled up before 15th
in touch and keen, not jump well, weakened 16th
tracked leaders until blundered badly 4th, soon lost place and tailed off when pulled up before 16th
held up rear, mistakes 11th and 12th, headway 14th, ridden to lead after 3 out and pecked, shaken up flat, ran on
in rear, tailed off 14th, pulled up before 3 out
held up, mistake 3rd, soon well behind, further mistakes 12th and 13th, tailed off when pulled up before 15th
towards rear, mistake 2nd, soon behind, pulled up before 14th
tracked leaders, led 4th, headed briefly 10th, mistake 12th, headed 14th, weakened next, very tired when clambered over 3 out
There are some familiar names among these hunter chasers, including Ask The Natives, Next To Nothing, Macgeorge and Indeed To Goodness, with the vote going to Next To Nothing. Ask The Natives was a useful chaser for Paul Nicholls in 2001 and 2002, and he has looked refreshed in winning a couple of point-to-points of late. He has to be considered here, as does Next To Nothing, who is lightly-raced but has won three of his last four races, including at Ayr last time, where he looked a decent prospect in this sphere. The evergreen Macgeorge can be relied upon to run his race and, of the others, Indeed To Goodness achieved a rating in the 100s under Rules and, having fairly recently scored in the pointing fields, and can be competitive for a place, Overall, though, we formed a good view of Next To Nothing at Ayr, and he is taken to build on that today.
