mid-division and keen, headway 5th, ridden and weakened 3 out
held up, not fluent 1st, some headway after 5th, soon beaten
tracked winner and not fluent 1st, ridden and weakened 5th, pulled up before 2 out
mid-division and not jumped well, fell heavily 3 out
held up and keen in mid-division, headway 5th, ridden to chase winner approaching last, pecked, kept on
made all, ridden clear approaching last
tracked leaders, ridden, weakened 3 out
held up towards rear, headway 5th, driven 3 out, weakened 2 out
mid-division, ridden 4th, weakened 2 out
always in the rear, pulled up before 2 out
tracked leaders throughout, chased winner after 4th, ridden after 3 out, faded approaching last
held up towards rear, brief effort approaching 3 out
mid-division, driven and weakened after 4 out
always in the rear, pulled up before 2 out
Withdrawn
The short list for a tricky race consists of Basic Fact, Bold Finch, Hills Of Aran and, possibly, Special Envoy, with the vote going to Basic Fact. There are a number of runners that can be given some sort of chance, including Jonjo O'Neill's Basic Fact, who has already been placed in a couple of hurdle events; Blue Patrick, rated in the 70s when scoring on the all-weather on the Flat; the 61-rated Flat winner, Bold Finch, who showed plenty of promise when second on his hurdling debut; Hills Of Aran, who made a pleasing hurdling debut at Ascot last time; French import Poliglotti, although he was disappointing on his British debut at Aintree; 60s rated Flat winner, Seattle Robber, who has shown promise over hurdles; Peter Bowen's Special Envoy, for whom market support would be interesting; Young Guns, who has shown enough to be considered for a place; and possibly the 50s-rated middle-distance Flat winner, Acuzio, even though he did not show much on his debut. From, these, with the caveat that you should watch the betting market for clues, we will side with Basic Fact.
Basic Fact (IRE) 11-2 (10-12) Held up towards rear, ridden and headway to go 2nd after 3 out, kept on, not reach winner, 2nd of 7, 3 1/2l behind She's Our Daisy (10-9) at Taunton 2m 1f nh nov hdl (4) gd in Oct.
Blue Patrick 33-1 (11-2) Led, hit 2nd, headed 4 out, weakened quickly after next, tailed off, 16th of 18, well behind Roll Along (11-2) at Cheltenham 2m mdn hdl (3) gs in Oct.
Cottingham (IRE) 10-1 (11-0) Took keen hold, held up, headway 3 out, chased winner and hit 2 out, no impression, 2nd of 15, 4l behind Kontinent (11-0) at Stratford 2m mdn hdl (4) gd in Oct.
Fantastic Arts (FR) 10-1 (11-0) Led to 3rd, weakened after 6th, 5th of 14, 10l behind Almanshood (10-8) at Plumpton 2m mdn hdl (5) gd in Oct.
Hills Of Aran 25-1 (10-12) Held up in touch, ridden and headway approaching 2 out, kept on same pace approaching last, 4th of 7, 13l behind Orpen Wide (11-1) at Ascot 2m nov hdl (3) gf in Oct.
Poliglotti (FR) 33-1 (11-0) In touch, ridden and weakened approaching 3 out, 13th of 17, well behind Bleak House (11-0) at Aintree 2m mdn hdl (3) gd in Oct.
Seattle Robber 12-1 (10-10) Held up, mistake 5th, headway 3 out, stayed on to take 3rd towards finish, 3rd of 6, 8l behind Kings Quay (10-10) at Market Rasen 2m 1f mdn hdl (4) gd in Aug.
Special Envoy (FR) (9-4) 3rd of 15, 2l behind Binary File (9-4) at Ovrevoll 1m 1f Grp 3 (1) sft in Aug (Flat).
