held up rear, headway 5th, ridden and weakened next
held up mid-division, headway approaching 5th, ridden to chase leaders 3 out, weakened approaching last
mid-division on wide outside, ridden 5th, mistake 3 out, stayed on moderately
led and soon clear, headed 5th, ridden to lead narrowly 3 out, weakening when hit 2 out and headed
tracked leader, led briefly 5th, weakened next
in touch, ridden and weakened 3 out
tracked clear leaders, headway 3 out, ridden soon after, led approaching last, ridden out
always in rear, behind when mistake 3 out
mid-division, mistake and unseated rider 4th
always in rear, behind when pulled up before last
Some very interesting newcomers in our opening event including Always Waining, Anitigiotto and Afrad, will give a chance to the last named. Nicky Henderson's juvenile was a top class performer on the flat in France, winning a Longchamp handicap, before finishing third in a listed event. He looks a very good recruit to the jumping game and is taken to win at his first attempt. Always Waining was a decent handicapper for Mark Johnston, progressing throughout the season to reach a rating in the nineties. He is now with a very shrewd yard so watch out for any market moves. Antigiotto has been recruited from the Luca Cumani stable and showed a decent level of form on the flat, he should be capable of winning races for his new connections. Of the experienced runners Scarlet Mix, a winner at Warwick, and Phar Bleu, runner up to the top class Cerium can be expected to take a hand in the finish. This could be an above average hurdle and Afrad could have the class to prevail
