chased leader, led 3rd until 11th, 1 1/2 lengths down last, held flat, stayed on
held up in 4th, not fluent 5th, headway 8th, last and outpaced after 12th, well beaten 4 out
led until 3rd, led 11th, 1 1/2 lengths ahead last, edged left and driven flat, stayed on
held up in rear, 4th and outpaced after 12th, well held from 4 out, went 3rd flat
chased leaders, ridden before 4 out, soon outpaced, well held from 3 out, lost 3rd flat
Ard Chros has not seen another rival in his last two starts and won’t be fazed by a return to 2m4f having won over shorter here 10 days ago. He’ll make a bold bid to defy his penalty but Charlie Deutsch has travelled up for just the one ride and GEMIRANDE already looks like making a better chaser than hurdler. Calle Malva hasn’t raced since scoring at Newcastle in November 2020 and is 5lb higher while it’s difficult to make a case for the other pair on recent form.
Gemirande (FR) 5-2 (11-11) Led, mistake 10th, ridden and headed when mistake last, no extra and lost 2nd flat, 3rd of 8, 13l behind Destin D'Ajonc (11-5) at Chepstow 2m 3f hcp (4) hvy in Jan.
Castlegrange (IRE) 16-1 (11-11) Towards rear, pushed along and gradually weakened 3 out, never on terms, 5th of 6, 19l behind Ardera Cross (10-2) at Ayr 2m hcp (4) hvy in Feb.
Ard Chros (IRE) 15-8fav (10-11) Made all, clear approaching last, unchallenged, won at Carlisle 2m hcp (4) sft in Feb beating Relkadam (10-12) by 19l, 5 ran.
Calle Malva (IRE) 6-1 (10-13) Held up, headway 6 out, left in second 5 out, joined leader before 4 out, led 2 out, went clear after last, won at Newcastle 2m 7f hcp (4) gd in Nov beating Tokaramore (11-11) by 11l, 7 ran.
Holme Abbey 20-1 (11-2) Chased leaders, pushed along after 4 out, ridden and weakened quickly before next, tailed off, 14th of 16, dist behind Freethinker (10-6) at Newcastle 2m 6f hcp (5) gd in Feb.
