held up in mid-division, closed from 7th, led on bit 2 out, clear last, impressive
prominent, went 2nd from 2 out, stayed on, no chance with winner
in rear, not fluent 1st or 5th, well beaten from 7th, tailed off
held up in touch, closed 6th, challenged next, led before 2 out, soon headed, 4th and no extra last
held up towards rear, headway 6th, ridden after next, soon beaten, weakening when mistake 3 out, pulled up before last
prominent, led 7th, headed before 2 out, weakened approaching last
prominent on inside, not fluent 5th or 3 out, soon ridden, lost place before 2 out
held up towards rear, headway after 7th, not fluent 3 out, soon weakened
mid-division, headway approaching 7th, ridden from 3 out, 5th and no extra when mistake last
held up towardsr rear, not fluent 5th, headway after 7th, ridden 3 out, went 3rd approaching last, stayed on same pace
Nonrunner
VOLNAY DE THAIX gained his fourth victory over hurdles on only his sixth start in a similar class handicap to this at Stratford before a fine run behind Lac Fontana in the Grade 1 Mersey Novices' Hurdle at Aintree, form which entitles him to the vote. Kayf Moss, who had completed a heavy-ground hat-trick earlier, was well beaten in that Aintree event and appears to need very testing conditions. My Oh Mount Brown won four races last season at a lower level and is 8lb higher than the latest of them. Softsong easily landed a maiden hurdle at Doncaster in January then pulled up in tough handicaps on his next two starts over timber. He's run reasonably well on the Flat subsequently and doesn't look badly treated. Prince Of Pirates scored on his debut over timber and has mainly raced over fences since where he's won four times. He was racing at a high level when last seen and a long absence isn't a problem. Long Lunch ran out of steam on his reappearance at Stratford though he hasn't done as well as expected since completing a double last autumn. Touch Back is a hard one to predict and appears best under A P McCoy's handling as emphasised when he scored over slightly further here in January and on his return to action at Market Rasen.
Volnay De Thaix (FR) 9-1 (11-4) Held up mid-division, ridden before 3 out, one pace from 2 out, 5th of 12, 6l behind Lac Fontana (11-4) at Aintree 2m 4f nov hdl Grade 1 (1) gs in Apr.
Kayf Moss 16-1 (11-4) With leaders, pushed along and lost place before 5 out, tailed off after 4 out, 8th of 12, 30l behind Lac Fontana (11-4) at Aintree 2m 4f nov hdl Grade 1 (1) gs in Apr.
Conquisto 10-1 (10-6) Tracked leaders, outpaced 4 out, weakened from 2 out, 6th of 12, 28l behind Wishfull Thinking (11-8) at Aintree 2m 4f ltd hcp chs Grd 2 (1) gd in Oct.
Prince Of Pirates (IRE) 9-2 (11-0) Held up towards rear, headway 15th, ridden 4 out, closed to take 3rd 2 out, no impression on front pair, lost 3rd towards finish, 4th of 9, 19l behind Monbeg Dude (11-0) at Cheltenham 3m 1f Grade 3 hcp chs (4yo+) (1) gd in Dec.
Softsong (FR) 33-1 (10-11) Held up towards rear, not fluent 1st, some headway 4 out, soon weakened, pulled up before 2 out, in a race won by Broadway Buffalo (10-12) at Haydock 3m hcp hdl (2) sft in May, 13 ran.
My Oh Mount Brown (IRE) 12-1 (11-9) Prominent, led 3rd until 5th, led 6th, jumped right 3 out, soon headed, weakened before last, 7th of 10, 29l behind Refer (10-9) at Uttoxeter 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gd in May.
Long Lunch 5-1 (11-4) Tracked leaders, led after 5th, ridden and hard pressed on long run between last 2, headed flat, no extra, 3rd of 11, 3l behind On Tour (11-4) at Stratford 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gd in Oct.
Cadoudoff (FR) 40-1 (11-3) Held up on outside, headway approaching 4 out, lost place before 2 out, 18th of 24, 44l behind Hawk High (11-1) at Cheltenham 2m hcap hdle Grd 3 (1) gd in Mar.
Touch Back (IRE) 17-2 (11-7) Held up in last pair, headway approaching 8th, chased (clear) winner before 2 out, stayed on flat, closing towards finish, 2nd of 7, 1/2l behind San Telm (11-4) at Market Rasen 3m hcp hdl 0-135 (3) gd in May.
Songsmith 6-1 (11-4) Mid-division, tracked leaders 2 out (usual 3 out), effort on outside between last 2, ridden and no impression in 4th before last, 4th of 11, 18l behind On Tour (11-4) at Stratford 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gd in Oct.
Beyeh (IRE) 28-1 (10-8) Mid-division on outside, headway 6th, close up 2 out, one pace approaching last, weakened flat, 9th of 19, 22l behind Polly Peachum (11-4) at Cheltenham 2m 5f mrs lst hdl (1) gd in Apr.
Moujik Borget (FR) 16-1 (11-4) Tracked leaders, driven after 3 out, kept on same pace from next, never on terms, 5th of 10, 12l behind Hint Of Mint (11-9) at Taunton 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-135 (3) gd in Apr.
