took keen hold, tracked leaders, led 1st, headed after 5 out, soon weakened
with leaders, outpaced 9th, hit 5 out, ridden next, weakened 3 out
held up in touch, mistake 6th, hit 13th, headway to lead 3 out, soon ridden, headed last, no extra flat
in touch, close 3rd when blundered and fell 11th
led to 1st, remained close up, led again after 5 out, ridden and headed 3 out, weakened last
held up in rear, headway 11th, ridden approaching 2 out,led last, ran on well flat
The Paul Nicholls-trained Valley Henry looks to be almost too obvious a selection here and therefore, may be worth taking on in the hope that some value can be squeezed out of the betting market. Although it would be folly to say he cannot win and a late play as a saver option is recommended for those who can't resist his claims. However, in a renewal that, with all respect to Ballbough Rasher and Jungle Jinks, appears to rest around the top four on the racecard Barrow Drive could be the one to side with, purely on there grounds of the likelihood of him being sent off at a decent price alone. The Tony Mullins-trained seven-year-old showed a good level of progression as a novice last season, with win and placed efforts in Graded races in his native Ireland. Admittedly, he was a little sketchy at his fences on occasions and his record does not read as well as it should. However, there are numerous comparisons to be made with Valley Henry's own record as a novice and hope can be gleaned for value seekers. There has to be something of a suspicion that Nicholls' charge, like last year's winner of this race Marlborough, was bottomed by his effort in the Gold Cup at Cheltenham - a theory which was backed up when both put in poor runs behind First Gold on unsuitable ground at Aintree In April. The times recorded on that day give hope to connections of Alcapone, who completed his race with a similar reading to Valley Henry, but he handled the ground much better and will be dangerous to rule out here if the heavens open. In summary, this is a race to savour and will be a truly run affair in which Valley Henry has an ideal opportunity to kick-start his season in the best possible way. However, he is unlikely to represent much value if the predicted rains arrive, so Barrow Drive could be the one to provide punters with a sound run for their money at a fair price.
