prominent, went 2nd 3rd, led well before 3 out where mistake, not fluent 2 out, soon hard ridden and reluctant, headed approaching last where not fluent, kept on towards finish
held up, pulled hard, hit 3rd, headway 5th, ridden and weakened approaching 3 out
in touch, not fluent 5th, weakened approachin 3 out
led, jumped right 5th, headed well before 3 out, soon weakened
jumped right, chased leader to 3rd, remained in touch, weakening when jumped slowly and mistake 3 out
jumped slowly 1st, in rear, lost touch after 5th, tailed off
chased leaders, jumped slowly 2nd, chased winner approaching 3 out where not fluent, led approaching last, all out
pulled hard, well in rear, some headway before 3 out but nowhere near leaders, went poor 3rd before 2 out
Makhzoon and King Edmund are both capable performers and have to be respected but it is hard to get away from CLASSIC SWAIN, who followed up his maiden hurdle success at Wincanton with a decent effort when taking a novices' hurdle at Newton Abbot and the Paul Nicholls-trained colt can complete a hat-trick. Winning pointer Persian Warrior has been well beaten in previous starts under rules, while Devolution and No Money For Honey make no appeal on their first starts over hurdles. Paul Webber's Makhzoon has shown some ability in bumpers, while King Edmund looked beaten before falling two out at Plumpton last month. This should not take a great deal of winning and can be won by Classic Swain.
Classic Swain (USA) 7-4fav (11-0) Chased leaders, led approaching 2 out, soon wandered, ran on, driven out, won at Newton Abbot 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gf beating Silmi (11-2) by 2l, 8 ran.
Devolution (IRE) 150-1 (10-12) In touch, blundered 2nd, weakened approaching 3 out, behind when Fell, in a race won by Straw Bear (11-5) at Leicester 2m nov hdl (3) sft in Jan '06, 22 ran.
Jago (SWI) 50-1 (10-12) Always towards rear, tailed off and pulled up after 3 out, in a race won by I Have Dreamed (10-12) at Taunton 2m 1f nh nov hdl (3) gd in Dec '07, 14 ran.
King Edmund 5-2fav (11-0) Tracked leader, led 6th, clear after 3 out, 2 length lead when went right and fell 2 out, in a race won by Zhukov (11-0) at Plumpton 2m mdn hdl (5) gd in Apr, 7 ran.
Makhzoon (USA) 5-1 (11-4) Prominent, ridden to lead over 2f out, headed near finish, 3rd of 15, 1/2l behind Henry Hook (11-4) at Kempton 2m mdn NH flat (6) gd in Apr.
No Money For Honey (IRE) Oscar gelding out of Cats Corner.
Persian Warrior (IRE) 3-1 (12-0) (cp) hdwy 10; led aft 2 out; pushed out, won at Cold Harbour 2m 4f ptp beating Longwood Lad (12-0) by 5l, 11 ran.
Duneen Dream (USA) 11-1 (8-6) Slowly into stride, always behind, last of 13, 17l behind Nassar (8-10) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f app hcp (0-55) (6) pol in Apr (flat).
On Yer Own 100-1 (10-3) In touch, weakening approaching 4 out, 7th of 11, well behind Marchand D'argent (10-13) at Chepstow 2m nh nov hdl (4) gd in Apr.
