in rear, ridden 4f out, plugged on from over 1f out, took moderate 4th well inside final furlong
slowly into stride, held up, struggling final 5f
slowly into stride, in rear, ridden and struggling 4f out
in touch, ridden over 4f out, soon weakened
always prominent, ridden to go 2nd 3f out, no chance with winner
chased winner until ridden 3f out, weakened over 2f out
in rear, ridden and struggling 5f out
mid-division, headway 5f out, weakened over 3f out
mid-division, struggling over 4f out
made all, clear over 2f out, eased inside final furlong
chased leaders, pushed along over 6f out, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 2f out
Always Bold has a solid chance of getting off the mark and gets the nomination over Brave Bugsy and Right You Are, while Brave Boogie would not need to be anything special to also play a strong role. The last named is out of Be Brave - a pretty useful hurdler for Nicky Henderson - so can be expected to cope with the trip. Support for Harry Dunlop's charge would be interesting. Right You Are is another with experience of the National Hunt game and can pay his way before too long. He does need to improve on his Flat form so far, though. Brave Bugsy won a seller over the sticks at Hereford but was then well held in better company at Ludlow and Uttoxeter. However, the gelding then made a pleasing debut on the Flat at Lingfield, so a case can be laid out for his claims. The mount of Simon Whitworth is a lively one to consider if the price on the selection proves to be restricting. Nevertheless, Always Bold is hard to ignore on the evidence available and, given Mark Johnston's flying form on the all weather, this appears to be a straightforward task for the son of King's Best to strike.
Brave Bugsy (IRE) 33-1 (9-7) Ridden to challenge 2 out, soon under pressure, 4th of 9, 3/4l behind Crispian (9-3) at Lingfield 1m 5f mdn stk (5) pol.
Meadow Cottage (IRE) 125-1 (9-12) Slowly into stride, always behind, dropped away 4f out, 7th of 9, 30l behind Man of Gwent (9-12) at W'hampton 1m 1f mdn stk (5) pol.
Right You Are (IRE) 22-1 (8-13) Held up in rear, headway on inside 2f out, soon edged right, no further progress, 4th of 9, 14l behind Motarjm (9-3) at W'hampton 1m 4f mdn stk (5) pol.
Site Sentry (IRE) 33-1 (9-7) Held up mid-division, pushed along over 2f out, soon no impression, 6th of 9, 5l behind Crispian (9-3) at Lingfield 1m 5f mdn stk (5) pol.
Guardian of Truth (IRE) 20-1 (9-8) Led at good pace, driven and headed just inside final 2f, soon weakened, last of 9, 6l behind Duty Free (9-5) at Sandown 1m 6f 3yo hcp (4) gd in Aug.
No Supper (IRE) 4-1 (9-3) Mid-division, ridden over 3f out, weakened 2f out, 5th of 12, 11l behind Lazy Darren (9-3) at W'hampton 1m 1f 2yo mdn (5) pol in Dec '06.
Spellman 33-1 (9-12) Held up in rear, ridden and weakened 2f out, last of 6, 8l behind General Blucher (8-5) at Lingfield 1m 2f mdn stk (5) pol.
Zach's Harmoney (USA) 6-1 (8-11) Took keen hold, tracking leaders, ridden and not much room over 2f out, weakened, 6th of 12, 9l behind Hessian (8-12) at Lingfield 1m 3yo clm (6) pol in Aug.
Mystik Megan 50-1 (9-7) Mid-division, headway 4f out, ridden over 3f out, weakened well over 2f out, 8th of 9, 37l behind Man of Gwent (9-12) at W'hampton 1m 1f mdn stk (5) pol.
Always Bold (IRE) 5-4fav (9-3) Set steady pace, quickened 3f out, ridden and headed well over 1f out, kept on one pace, 2nd of 8, 2l behind Red Linnet (8-12) at Lingfield 1m 4f 3yo mdn (5) pol.
Brave Boogie Tobougg filly out of flat and hurdles winner Be Brave.
Soxy Doxy (IRE) 10-3 (8-12) Led, headed over 3f out, edged right over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 5th of 6, 10l behind Tevez (9-3) at Southwell 1m 3yo mdn (5) fbs in Jan.
