held up, ridden and lost touch from over 3f out
keen, held up, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
tracked leader, ridden over 1f out, driven and one pace final furlong
made all, ridden out
close up, ridden and effort on inside approaching 1f out, unable to quicken near finish
Nonrunner
A difficult race to fathom and Caucassiene is the recommendation to see off Dream Mountain and Hatch A Plan. Caucassiene had useful form in France and did at least get her head infront on the all-weather this winter. The ground is obviously a concern but the fact that John Hills has booked Eddie Ahern for the mount suggests that the trainer very much means business. Dream Mountain isn't quite as good on the artificial surfaces so his recent lines of form can be ignored. He stays well enough and will give his supporters a definite run for their money. Hatch A Plan is dramatically stepped up in trip. He loves fast ground and may be a player if they go no pace early doors. Turn N'Burn makes his first run on turf for quite some time so is watched in the market for any signs of confidence. Birkside is unexposed but blew his chances at Plumpton over hurdles when misbehaving in the preliminaries and any wager would need to be considered following his journey to post. Caucassiene looks the pick of these on French form and has to be the one in a race that throws up more questions than answers.
Birkside 9-2 (8-8) (ran without tongue strap), close-up, ridden 3f out, weakened 2f out, soon eased, last of 6, 23l behind Cactus King (9-1) at Lingfield 1m 2f hcp 0-85 (4) pol.
Hatch A Plan (IRE) 11-2 (8-13) Always towards rear, 9th of 12, 6l behind Double Spectre (9-3) at Bath 1m 2f hcp 0-65 (6) frm.
Caucasienne (FR) 9-2 (9-2) Prominent in chasing group, stayed on one pace final 2f, 6th of 14, 4 1/2l behind Newnham (9-7) at Lingfield 2m app hcp (5) pol in Feb.
Himba 18-1 (8-6) Chased leaders, ridden and weakened 3f out, 12th of 13, 32l behind Spinning Coin (10-0) at Salisbury 1m 6f hcp 0-75 (5) gs in Sept.
Madiba 14-1 (9-5) Mid-division, headway over 6f out, ridden and one pace final 2f, 4th of 12, 14l behind Victory Quest (9-10) at Southwell 2m hcp 0-65 (6) fbs in Feb.
Longhill Tiger 15-8 (9-13) Led, driven and headed over 2f out, one pace after, 3rd of 4, 3 1/2l behind Pigeon Flight (8-8) at Yarmouth 1m 2f mdn aut stk (6) gf.
Turn 'n Burn 33-1 (8-6) Slowly into stride, soon prominent, ridden and weakened over 2f out, 10th of 12, 14l behind Salute (9-2) at W'hampton 1m 6f hcp 0-85 (4) pol in Mar.
Dream Mountain 7-1 (8-10) Chased leaders, ridden over 3f out, weakened approaching final furlong, 9th of 12, 13l behind Dolzago (9-6) at Lingfield 2m hcp 0-60 (6) pol in Jan.
