held up in touch, headway 4 out, ridden and effort 3 out, no extra from 2 out
tracked leaders, ridden and weakened after 4 out, behind when pulled up before 2 out
held up in rear, mistake 7th, headway approaching 3 out to chase leaders, weakened next
held up in mid-division, headway approaching 3 out, led approaching last, stayed on well
prominent, stumbled and fell after 1st
in touch, headway to track leaders 4, led at 4 out, ridden and headed approaching last, kept on
towards rear, blundered and unseated rider 5th
led, headed 4 out, soon weakened, pulled up before next
unseated rider, always prominent disputing 4th when blundered and unseated rider 4 out
An open affair where not too many can confidently be ruled out. However, Hey Ref may be open to a little more improvement than most and Jonjo O'Neill's charge gets the nod over Gaucho, Edmo Heights and Forum Chris, who are all capable of making this a real test for the selection. The ground has come up in the favour of Hey Ref, who showed that he acts well on a galloping course when easily accounting for useful ex-Flat horses Maniatis and Greenfield at Haydock last season, and he is expected to strip fitter after his reappearance effort at Uttoxeter just before Christmas. The form of that outing looks rock solid in the context of this race and the lightly raced son of King's Ride is expected to pick up where he left off last term. Hey Ref has obviously had his problems though, and it may be prudent to watch the betting before the off. Strong support for Gaucho will be very interesting and he could be the best value alternative if he repeats his effort from last time.
