LADY DE LA VEGA is taken to put her rivals to the sword now that she's stepped up in trip. Captain Smoothy and Little Al feature amongst the dangers. The selection has caught the eye finishing strongly on a couple of occasions over shorter trips than this and looks realistically treated. She probably needs to make some progress and wouldn't want to be held up too far off the pace at this track but she looks worth chancing. Daraz Rose and Little Al both need to bounce back from poor displays but both have form to their names that makes them of interest at this level. Captain Smoothy made a winning return from a lengthy absence at Exeter and has been handed an 11lb rise by the assessors. He looks capable of following up despite the handicapper's attention. Its All About You may yet be able to build on what he has shown thus far whilst Muntami isn't dismissed out of hand but Lady De La Vega may be able to make her mark.
Daraz Rose (IRE) 6-1 (10-5) Held up in touch, chased leaders 3f out, soon ridden, weakening when mistake 2 out, 6th of 11, 14l behind Easter Legend (11-12) at Ascot 2m 6f Mares Handicap Hurdle (0-125) (4yo+) (3) gd in Nov.
Little Al 8-1 (10-12) Held up, in touch, hit 3rd, under pressure 8th, tailed off before 4 out, pulled up after next, in a race won by King Ar Aghaidh (11-9) at Kempton 3m hcp hdl 0-120 (3) gs in Nov, 10 ran.
Its All About You (IRE) 25-1 (10-11) Held up in rear, some headway after 9th, weakened when pulled up before 3 out, in a race won by The Great Alfie (11-2) at Exeter 2m 7f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) sft in Nov, 14 ran.
Gunnadoit (USA) 28-1 (10-9) Close up, lost place and outpaced 4 out, headway 3 out, one pace 2 out, 4th of 13, 15l behind Winterwood (11-10) at Doncaster 3m hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gd in Dec.
Oniz Tiptoes (IRE) 22-1 (10-13) Chased leader, weakened approaching 5 out, 7th of 11, well behind Mill Side (11-7) at Doncaster 3m hcp chs 0-120 (3) gd in Dec.
Lady De La Vega (FR) 6-1 (11-12) Mid-division, outpaced 3 out, ridden and kept on under pressure from next, no impression, 3rd of 8, 9l behind Petroglyph (11-11) at Sedgefield 2m 4f nov hcp hdl 0-100 (4) sft in Dec.
Muntami (IRE) 14-1 (10-4) Held up, headway to chase leaders approaching 3 out, ridden approaching 2 out, blundered last, one pace, 7th of 13, 24l behind Winterwood (11-10) at Doncaster 3m hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gd in Dec.
Captain Smoothy 16-1 (10-3) Held up, good headway to chase leaders halfway, led approaching 3 out, driven out, won at Exeter 2m 5f 4yo Am hcp 0-100 (4) sft in Dec beating Ramvaswani (10-9) by 4l, 18 ran.
Ashmolian (IRE) 50-1 (10-5) Held up in rear, headway approaching 3 out, soon ridden and weakened, 10th of 13, 42l behind Bangkok Pete (10-12) at Fontwell 2m 4f nh nov hdl (4) sft in Dec.
Gouranga 28-1 (11-5) In touch, driven and lost place 4 out, weakened from next, 7th of 18, 48l behind King Stanley (11-12) at Hereford 3m 2f hcp hdl 0-100 (4) sft in Dec.
Estrica (IRE) 12-1 (9-9) Behind, headway approaching 3 out, challenged on inside and chance 3 out, ridden approaching 2 out, hung left approaching last, weakened flat, 7th of 13, 7l behind Ballabrook (10-9) at Ludlow 2m 5f am nov hcp hdl 0-105 (4) sft in Dec.
