raced keenly, tracked leaders, went 2nd 4th to 11th, weakened soon after 4 out
chased leaders until lost place 4th, reminders 7th, hit 11th, staying on when blundered 2 out, left poor 3rd last
held up, headway into 4th 4 out, hit 3 out and soon weakened
made all, hit 5th, 1 1/2 lengths ahead when left well clear last
raced wide, held up in 4th, headway and hit 3 out, went 3rd 2 out, left poor 2nd and slighty hampered last
prominent, chased winner 11th, ridden and 1 1/2 lengths down when fell last, broke hind leg
Not your run-of-the-mill beginners' chase, with a decent enough prize up for grabs and some interesting candidates. They include Imperial Commander, Over The Creek and Paulo Dancer and the vote goes to Over The Creek. The David Pipe-trained selection has plenty in his favoure here. We know he acts at the track and that he also acts with cut in the ground. In addition he stays well, and he had some classy hurdling form, so he can finally transfer that to fences and score again. Imperial Commander is a lightly raced individual that also acts with cut in the ground and comes from a yard still going well. He should be well prepared for his chasing debut and won't be far away. The same can be said of Paulo Dancer, who acts on good to soft and at the track, and it seems plausible to put a line through his last two runs of last season when he was handicapped to the hilt. He can improve over fences and a win would be no surprise, but with little else appealing today can be the day for Over The Creek.
Admiral Peary (IRE) 6-4fav (10-9) In touch, jumped right throughout, with clear leader 7th, ridden to lead 3 out, weakening when jumped right and unseated rider at the last in race won by Happy Hussar (9-13) at N Abbot 3m 3f sll hdl (5) gf in Sept, 13 ran.
Aldiruos (IRE) 13-2 (11-1) Held up, ridden and stayed on from 2 out, never nearer, 4th of 17, 14l behind Pigeon Island (11-8) at Uttoxeter 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gd in Sept.
Easter Present (IRE) 16-1 (10-4) Held up towards rear, lost touch 4 out, tailed off when pulled up 2 out in race won by Ofarel D'airy (11-7) at Cheltenham 2m 5f hcp chs (3) gd in Apr, 10 ran.
Imperial Commander (IRE) 25-1 (11-4) Chased leaders, ridden approaching 3 out, weakened 2 out, 3rd of 10, 22l behind Chief Dan George (11-4) at Aintree 3m nov hdl Grd 1 (1) gd in Apr.
Over The Creek 100-1 (11-10) Chased leaders until weakened approaching 3 out, 10th of 14, 44l behind Inglis Drever (11-10) at Cheltenham 3m hdl Grd 1 (1) gs in Mar.
Paulo Dancer (FR) 5-1 (11-8) Prominent, ridden, effort 2 out, weakened last, 6th of 16, 36l behind Marcus (11-0) at Wincanton 2m 6f nh nov hdl (2) gs in Feb.
