chased leaders, lost place 6th, pushed along next, no impression
chased winner throughout, ridden to challenge approaching 2 out, hit last, no extra
prominent until reminders and lost place 8th
held up in rear, some headway 8th, weakened next
made all, shaken up approaching last, stayed on well
chased leaders, ridden approaching 3 out, weakened approaching 2 out
This is a cracking race to get proceedings underway and we will side with Material World to get the better of The French Furze and Afrad. The selection won well last time when beating Freetown in Pertemps handicap hurdle qualifier at Cheltenham and this consistent mare just keeps improving. She rarely finishes out of the frame and she looks to have a solid chance. The French Furze is interesting as the stable is in red hot form and he ran well last time when chasing home Afsoun but he has yet to prove he stays this far and looks opposable on that basis. Afrad was a fair third in the Lanzarote hurdle at Kempton last time behind Verasi and although he looks high enough in the weights at present he is not without a chance. Emma Lavelle's Labelthou rarely runs a bad race and is another to consider, but in a very competitive contest to open the card we will nominate Material World as the one to beat.
The French Furze (IRE) 14-1 (11-8) Led, headed when mistake 2 out, soon outpaced, no extra towards finish, 2nd of 8, 9l behind Afsoun (11-8) at Haydock 2m hdl Grd 2 (1) hvy in Jan.
Afrad (FR) 9-1 (11-0) Led early, tracked leader, regained lead 4 out, narrowly headed 2 out, still close up last, kept on under pressure flat, 3rd of 17, 2l behind Verasi (10-4) at Kempton 2m 5f hcp hdl (2) sft in Jan.
St Matthew (USA) 9-4 (10-13) Tracked leader, led 3rd, headed 4 out, ridden 2 out, stayed on under pressure to lead again flat, won at Wetherby 2m 4f hcp chs (2) gs beating Coat of Honour (11-12) by 1 1/2l, 6 ran.
Witch Wind 5-1 (11-5) Tracked leaders, led 3 out, held on well, won at Kelso 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-125 (3) sft in Jan beating Minster Shadow (10-10) by 1/2l, 16 ran.
Labelthou (FR) 8-13 (11-5) Made all, hit 3 out, ridden approaching last, ridden out, won at Warwick 2m 5f nov hdl Grd 2 (1) hvy in Jan beating Zilcash (10-7) by 2l, 7 ran.
Material World 9-1 (10-5) Chased leaders, effort 3 out, challenged approaching last, switched left and led run-in, driven out, won at Cheltenham 3m hcp hdl (2) sft in Dec beating Freetown (10-0) by a nk, 16 ran.
