with leader, led 6th, ridden and headed approaching 2 out, one pace under pressure
held up in touch, headway to lead approaching 2 out, ridden out flat
towards rear, headway to go 4th approaching 2 out, no further progress
led, headed and reminder 6th, close up when stumbled 3 out, weakened before next
tracked leaders, headway when mistake 3 out, chased winner next, ridden and effort between last two, not fluent last, one pace run in
Irish raider The Joker can make his experience count here against the promising Nandoo and Ramblees Holly who has to give weight away all round. The Joker showed enough on his hurdles debut at Sligo to suggest that he can progress, and as long as he handles the fast ground, will prove hard to beat. He has already paid his way on these shores, having landed a bumper at Ayr in January, but showed that he is not infallible when failing in a follow-up bid at the Scottish track a month later. However, he still sets the standard, with Nandoo his main challenger. Micky Hammond's charge, a 25-rated maiden on the level for Peter Harris, failed to break her duck in that sphere when moving to Yorkshire, but made an immediate impact when sent over timber, scoring at Sedgefield nine days ago. It was not a strong contest by any standards though, and she will have to improve a lot to follow up. Ramblees Holly has gone up the handicap since winning at Sedgefield in July and will find things tough off topweight. Snails Castle returns from an absence but any moves in the market will reflect the degree of confidence in Ed Tuer's inmate. All in all, The Joker looks an obvious choice and gets a confident vote.
