ran out, hung badly right, led and jumped badly right 2nd, ran very wide, ran out approaching 4th
always behind, tailed off
chased leaders, ridden after 6th, faded from next
prominent, led after 3 out, headed next, soon ridden, weakened last
mid-division, steady headway from 6th, led last, comfortably
mid-division, jumped right and unseated rider 3rd
tracked leaders, left in lead approaching 4th, headed 3 out, soon weakened
held up towards rear, headway 7th, pressing leaders when mistake 2 out, soon ridden, every chance last, kept on
in touch, effort approaching 2 out, weakened before last
in touch, led briefly 3 out, led again 2 out, ridden and headed last, no extra
held up towards rear, headway after 6th, effort 2 out, kept on same pace
hampered 3rd, always towards rear
badly hampered 3rd, always behind, tailed off
The ground may be faster than ideal for Once A Brownie but Jonjo O'Neill's gelding looks to have been found a suitable opportunity to open his account over hurdles and is taken to do just that at the main expense of Yufo and Speed Winner. The last mentioned was formerly trained in Hong Kong and is impossible to weigh up on what is his British debut but trainer Gary Moore does well with his runners here so the seven-year-old cannot be completely ruled out. Henrietta Knight's Native Forest is well bred but has yet to show any real signs of ability so may again be best watched, while Pan The Man has proven to be expensive to follow since making a winning debut in a bumper and has struggled over both hurdles and fences since then. Nick Gifford's Yufo showed promise on his only start in a Lingfield bumper but has been off the track for a long time now and a safer bet looks to be Once A Brownie, who is probably better than his reappearance run would suggest and he gets the vote.
Corker 16-1 (11-4) Raced on inside, behind, ridden after 5th, struggling before 8th, tailed off when pulled up 3 out in race won by Manawanui (11-2) at Plumpton 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-105 (4) gs in Apr, 13 ran.
Native Forest (IRE) 80-1 (10-12) In touch, jumped slowly 3rd, ridden after 5th, weakened 3 out, 6th of 9, 31l behind Pepporoni Pete (10-12) at Wincanton 2m nh nov hdl (4) gs in Oct.
Once A Brownie (IRE) 4-9fav (11-0) Held up towards rear, headway after 8th, slightly outpaced approaching 2 out, responded to pressure to chase winner last, kept on, 2nd of 12, nk behind Team Leader (11-0) at Stratford 2m 6f mdn hdl (4) sft in Oct.
Ortica (FR) 16-1 (11-0) Mid-division, ridden over 4f out, outpaced over 2f out, rallied over 1f out, one pace final furlong, 4th of 10, 11l behind Bouncy Castle (11-0) at Hereford 2m 1f mdn nhf (6) gf in Sept.
Pan The Man (IRE) 14-1 (10-11) Always towards rear, tailed off when pulled up 2 out in race won by He's The Biz (10-4) at Worcester 2m 7f hcp chs 0-110 (4) gf in Jul, 16 ran.
Speed Winner (AUS) Danehill gelding out of a moderate racemare.
Yufo (IRE) 6-1 (11-4) Held up, towards rear, steady over 3f out, chased leaders 2f out, chased winner over 1f out, driven and no impression final furlong, 2nd of 14, 3/4l behind Schumann (11-4) at Lingfield 2m nhf (H) gd in Oct '05.
Beauchamp Star 11-2 (10-2) Held up in touch, weakened 3 out, 7th of 16, 33l behind New Team (10-12) at Uttoxeter 2m mdn hdl (5) sft in Oct.
