chased winner, ridden and no impression from 2 out, stayed on same pace
pulled hard, held up in rear, headway 3rd, hit next, jumped right 5th, hit 8th, soon struggling, weakening when mistake 4 out, pulled up before 2 out
chased leaders, dropped to last and slow 3rd, behind from 8th, went modest 4th after 3 out
tracked leaders, ridden and no impression on winner from 2 out, 3rd and no extra last
made all, clear from 2 out, stayed on gamely
Alexandra Dunn needs three winners at the time of writing to better last season's total over jumps and TACTICAL MANOEUVRE looks a strong contender for the yard. Rated some 13lb lower over fences than hurdles, there should be scope for improvement after a mere handful of runs over the larger obstacles and hopefully he'll not break any blood vessels as was the case last time. Crafty Roberto really does deserve a win over fences - he's currently 0-20 but has been runner-up no less than eight times. He should go close but further softening of the ground would not suit. It was interesting to see Lickpenny Larry backed into favouritism the last day when he failed to fire completely. It will be interesting to witness if he's the subject of similar support here.
Crafty Roberto 12-1 (11-12) Held up in rear, ridden and struggling 3 out, headway 2 out, went 3rd flat, no impression, 3rd of 9, 9 1/2l behind Georgieshore (10-5) at Leicester 2m hcp (4) hvy in Jan.
Amalfi Doug (FR) 9-4 (11-2) Led, clear after 1st until 2 out, ridden and headed before last, weakened last, 4th of 6, 3 1/4l behind Gannicus (11-2) at Fakenham 2m mdn (4) gd in Jun.
Cashanova (IRE) 9-1 (11-12) Held up, headway after 7th, weakened before 2 out, 7th of 16, 26 1/2l behind Broken Quest (11-7) at Huntingdon 2m 4f hcp (4) sft in Jan.
Tactical Manoeuvre (IRE) 2-1 (11-9) Sometimes jumped right, chased leading pair, left in lead 7th, disputing from 3 out, slight lead when went right last, ridden run-in, headed and no extra final 100 yards, 2nd of 4, 1l behind Spiritofchartwell (11-12) at Fontwell 2m 2f hcp (5) sft in Mar.
Lickpenny Larry 7-2jfav (10-10) Held up, headway 9th, close 3rd when slithered badly on landing 4 out, lost all chance and well beaten after, 5th of 6, dist behind Bonds Conquest (10-1) at Leicester 2m 4f hcp (5) hvy in Mar.
