made all, in command last, stayed on well to draw clear after
held up in rear, headway on inside approaching 3 out, weakened before last
mid-division, headway on inside 5th, ridden approaching 3 out, soon weakened, tailed off
mid-division, ridden 3rd, headway next, weakened approaching 3 out
held up towards rear, headway 5th, chased winner 2 out, no impression flat
held up, headway after 2nd, not fluent 4th or 3 out, stayed on same pace approaching last
mid-divsion, lost place 5th, no impression after
held up in rear, headway approaching 3 out, soon ridden, edged left approaching 2 out, weakened before last
prominent, chased winner after 2nd until 5th, stayed on same pace from 3 out
with winner until after 2nd, chased winner again 5th, every chance when mistake 3 out, stayed on same pace last
Nonrunner
In a handicap hurdle where plenty of the leading players are hard to assess we turn to winning form and ALONG THE NILE, who chases a four-timer, ahead of Ring For Time while Alazan might be a value shout for the places. All of those wins from the pick have come in sellers or claimers but on the pick of those runs he looks fairly treated back in the handicap ranks. He'll handle conditions just fine and on this form he might be dangerous to ignore. Ring For Time would probably likeconditions to soften up a bit but he did place on fast ground three starts back, albeit well held. His best work of late has come in novice company and we're not convinced he's that well treated. Alazan was expected to go better last time when trying to land back-to-back scores. He should improve with a couple of lbs removed from his back and while he still looks weighted out of a winning chance place prospects look good. Oscar Gogo has run well on his two starts since returning from a break but he goes better in softer conditions so we opt for the horse on form, which is Along The Nile.
Pascha Bere (FR) 25-1 (10-3) Held up towards rear on outside, well beaten 4 out, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out, in a race won by Sir Harry Ormesher (11-1) at Aintree 2m 4f listed hcp hdl (1) gd in Apr, 22 ran.
Along The Nile 11-8fav (11-8) Held up behind, headway 3 out, led before last, stayed on to go readily clear flat, won at Hexham 2m sell hdl (5) gd beating The Duke's Speech (11-0) by 8l, 6 ran.
Dean's Grange 5-1 (11-0) Close up on inner, chased leaders 3 out, led narrowly 2 out, in command before last, stayed on strongly, won at Kempton 2m NH mdn hdl (4) gd in Apr beating Cois Farraig (11-0) by 1 3/4l, 11 ran.
Playing With Fire (IRE) 12-1 (11-5) Tracked leaders and keen, ridden approaching 2 out, kept on to chase winner from last, always held, 2nd of 4, 5l behind Inventor (11-12) at Bangor 2m 1f nh nov hdl (4) gd in Apr.
Cool Touch (IRE) 8-1 (11-2) Held up towards rear, headway 3 out, brought to stands rail soon after, weakened approaching last, 3rd of 9, 11l behind County Zen (11-8) at Newbury 2m hcp hdl 0-135 (3) sft in Mar.
Alazan (IRE) 9-4fav (11-1) Held up in touch, led after 4th, headed approaching 2 out, soon weakened, 7th of 10, 28l behind Elite Land (9-11) at Stratford 2m hcp hdl 0-125 (3) gf in Mar.
Ring For Time 7-1 (10-11) Disputed 2nd, driven approaching 2 out, ridden last, stayed on, no chance with winner flat, 2nd of 5, 16l behind Restless Harry (11-8) at Cheltenham 2m 5f nh nov hdl (2) gd in Apr.
Lepido (ITY) 10-3 (11-9) In rear, ridden and headway approaching 2 out, no impression after, 5th of 11, 17l behind Tiger O'toole (11-11) at Taunton 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-110 (4) gf in Mar.
Sun Quest 8-1 (10-12) Chased leaders, went 2nd after 3 out, until approaching next, modest 3rd soon after, weakened into 4th flat, 4th of 13, 10l behind City Heights (10-10) at Taunton 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gs in Apr.
Wheelavit (IRE) 20-1 (11-10) Led until headed approaching 5th, weakened 3 out, 6th of 7, well behind Exulto (11-4) at Southwell 2m hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gd in Apr.
Oscar Gogo (IRE) 5-4 (11-6) Led, jumped left 3rd, headed 2 out, still close 3rd last, no extra towards finish, 3rd of 8, 2 3/4l behind Ring For Time (10-13) at Hereford 2m 1f nov hdl (4) sft in Mar.
