Verdict

Fitness will have to be taken on trust as far as MY FRIEND SANDY and Neil Harvey are concerned but neither will mind the ground and the former never finished out of the first two in four starts over hurdles here, scoring first-time out last season. He may be the one to beat as Lord Generous has been well beaten in both outings over the larger obstacles and is struggling to recapture the form he showed over hurdles last season. Fahrisee also has plenty to prove over fences at the moment, while Paddy The Yank looks out of his depth and As De Fer has shown little since arriving from France.

Formwatch

Fahrisee (IRE) 14-1 (11-2) Chased leaders, lost place 7th, fell next, in a race won by Osric (11-2) at Ffos Las 2m 3f nov chs (4) sft in Dec, 7 ran.

Lord Generous 12-1 (11-0) Pressed leader, not fluent 8th, lost 2nd next, ridden after 11th, lost touch before 13th, 3rd of 5, well behind Peveril (11-0) at Folkestone 3m 1f beg chase (5) hvy.

My Friend Sandy 3-1 (10-11) Chased leader until after hitting 2nd, lost place briefly when not fluent 5th, chased winner who was clear 5 out, closed from 3 out, no impression towards finish, 2nd of 5, 1 1/2l behind Maktu (10-9) at Chepstow 3m beg chase (4) gd in Mar.

Neil Harvey (IRE) 4-5fav (11-5) Chased leaders, led 5th, ridden and strongly pressed after 3 out, headed 2 out, soon no chance with winner, 2nd of 9, 8l behind Zemsky (10-12) at Plumpton 2m 5f nov hdl (4) sft in Mar '09.

Paddy The Yank (IRE) 16-1 (12-3) Hdwy 8; wknd app 3 out, 5th of 14, 19l behind Blejan Eyhre (11-7) at Woodford 3m ptp gd in Apr.

As De Fer (FR) 40-1 (11-6) Chased leader until 6th, weakened 4 out, tailed off, 9th of 16, well behind Mic's Delight (11-9) at Exeter 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gs.