held up in rear, headway to chase leaders 10th, ridden and weakened quickly between last 2
tracked leader, headway to join leader approaching 3 out, ridden to lead approaching last, held on well towards finish
led, ridden and headed approaching last, rallied and every chance flat, no extra towards finish
in touch, lost place 10th, ridden approaching 2 out, driven and effort approaching last, kept on same pace
held up towards rear, ridden approaching 3 out, soon outpaced
Small fields are very much the order of the day at Hexham and the opener is no exception, with just the six runners lining up, although it is still a competitive heat. The former Henrietta Knight-trained Baby John has shown little since leaving her care and is best left alone, while like a lot of Norman Mason's horses Red Hot Indian has been below par recently. Gayles And Showers has an absence to overcome, while Glinger (winner Carlisle Friday) should find this tougher. Guilsborough Gorse has claims on his best but the one that gets the TEAMtalk vote is Taakid. Sue Smith's gelding comes here race fit and in form and, while a 6lb rise for his win at Sedgefield last time gives the gelding more to do, he is very much the one to beat.
