held up, smooth headway 4 out, led on bit approaching last, ran on
held up, tracking leaders, chased leader from 2nd, led 2 out, ridden and headed approaching last, one pace
in touch, ridden 3 out, soon weakened
tracked leaders, ridden approaching 2 out, went 2nd and jumped right last, kept on
led, clear 2nd, ridden and headed when mistake 2 out, kept on again flat
tracked leader, behind from 4th
towards rear, steady headway after 4th, ridden and weakened 2 out
always in the rear
mid-division, headway 3rd, weakened 3 out, mistake 2 out
mid-division, ridden approaching 5th, plugged on
held up, keen, in rear when fell 5th
All eyes will be on CRACK AWAY JACK with Five Dream and Songe likely to provide the most obvious opposition. The presence of the Fred Winter winner means the majority of these runners will have to race from out of the handicap. Nevertheless, it will be no easy task to win this off a mark of 149 and put simply, he needs to take this in order to have any serious aspirations of a Champion Hurdle challenge. Five Dream bombed out in the Triumph Hurdle but it wouldn't be a Saturday without a solid Paul Nicholls challenger. Songe was a much-improved novice over the course of the winter. He may have preferred it good-to-soft but it would be wise to forgive his Aintree effort as he was arguably over the top for the season. Squadron was well beaten by our selection when the pair met in a Sandown event last February. However, on this occasion, he enjoys a massive pull at the weights and will be receiving rather than giving weight away. Super Formen has plenty of early pace so there will be no hanging around. Shavansky should have come on for a run on the level last month. Harry Tricker won a Plumpton maiden in style but never quite built upon the impression created. A race to watch rather than punt heavily on.
Crack Away Jack 14-1 (11-10) Patiently ridden off the pace, headway after 3 out, went 2nd last, ridden to lead flat, edged left, ran on, won at Cheltenham 2m lst hcp hdl (1) gs in Mar beating Ashkazar (11-12) by 2 1/2l, 22 ran.
Five Dream (FR) 9-1 (11-0) Held up, hit 2nd, ridden and headway after 3 out, soon weakened, 11th of 14, 35l behind Celestial Halo (11-0) at Cheltenham 2m 1f 4yo hdl Grd 1 (1) gs in Mar.
Songe (FR) 33-1 (10-13) Held up in rear, headway 6th, weakened approaching 3 out, 8th of 14, 49l behind Pierrot Lunaire (10-8) at Aintree 2m nov hdl Grd 2 (1) gd in Apr.
Squadron 9-2 (11-8) Mid-division, shaken up and headway approaching 2 out, took narrow advantage approaching last, soon ridden, edged left, ran on, won at Cheltenham 2m 1f 4yo nov hdl (2) gs in Apr beating Hot Diamond (11-0) by 3/4l, 12 ran.
Super Formen (FR) 2-1fav (11-4) Led, ridden 2 out, soon headed and one pace, 2nd of 6, 15l behind La Vecchia Scuola (11-1) at Ayr 2m 4yo nov hdl (3) gd in Apr.
Silmi 100-1 (10-10) Prominent, slightly hampered 2nd, hit 4th, soon driven, weakened after next, 18th of 22, well behind Crack Away Jack (11-10) at Cheltenham 2m lst hcp hdl (1) gs in Mar.
Harry Tricker 13-2 (11-4) Mid-division when fell at the 2nd in race won by Squadron (11-8) at Cheltenham 2m 1f 4yo nov hdl (2) gs in Apr, 12 ran.
Shavansky 11-4 (11-8) Prominent, chased winner approaching 2 out, ridden approaching last, weakened and lost 2 places flat, 4th of 10, 17l behind Sendani (10-12) at Aintree 2m nov hdl (4) gd in May.
Lemon Silk (IRE) 10-3fav (11-8) Tracked leader, lost place 4 out, outpaced approaching 2 out, weakened last, 5th of 7, 16l behind Little Lu (11-11) at Market Rasen 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gd in Aug.
Quasar d'Oudairies (FR) 2-1 (11-0) Held up, headway 3 out to chase winner, ridden and not quicken approaching 2 out, 4th of 7, 41l behind Beherayn (10-12) at Taunton 2m 1f nh nov hdl (4) gf in Apr.
Distiller (IRE) 11-2jt-fav (10-4) Chased leaders, effort after 3 out, soon one pace, 7th of 16, 15l behind Katies Tuitor (11-12) at Market Rasen 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-145 (2) gd in Sept.
Arctic Wings (IRE) 16-1 (11-2) Held up towards rear, steady headway approaching 3 out, kept on from last, 3rd of 15, 1 1/2l behind Theatre Belle (11-5) at Aintree 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-125 (3) gd in May.
