tracked leaders, pushed along and headway approaching 3 out, hard ridden to lead after last, battle gamely
led, not fluet 2nd, mistake 7th, jumped right 8th, headed after 3 out, fell next
held towards rear, hard driven and headway approaching 3 out, led 2 out, headed after last, kept on strongly
chased clear leader, every chance 4 out, weakened 2 out
held up in rear, under pressure 4 out, soon beaten
held up in rear, jumped left 12th, soon under pressure and beaten
The Hairy Lemon is the one to beat but there may be some mileage in taking him on with Soulard whilst Randwick Roar has to be respected. The Hairy Lemon responded well to the fitting of blinkers to gamely defy the well-regarded Roll Along at Taunton and everything looks in place for this fairly consistent gelding to run a big race. He did disappoint at this track on his penultimate start but that was a better race and he appeared to lose his confidence after an early mistake. Randwick Roar finished 8 lengths clear of Alphabetical over course and distance last time but that win came on soft ground and the balance of his form would appear to indicate that he needs soft ground to produce his best whilst the runner-up finished a long way behind The Hairy Lemon at Taunton on his next start. Craven finds little off the bridle and cannot be relied upon, Alam has run well fresh but could find this too competitive which leaves Soulard. He has struggled in the face of stiff tasks the last twice but won his first two starts over fences in good style. The form may not amount to much but he could do no more than win and Soulard may be able to leave The Hairy Lemon's supporters feeling bitter.
The Hairy Lemon 13-2 (11-12) Held up, headway 8th, ridden 2 out, headed flat, regained lead final strides, won at Taunton 2m 3f hcp chs 0-125 (3) sft in Jan beating Roll Along (11-12) by a shd, 9 ran.
Soulard (USA) 14-1 (11-4) Led, ridden approaching 4 out, headed approaching 3 out, weakened approaching last, 4th of 11, 15l behind Nevertika (11-8) at Doncaster 2m 3f nov chs (3) gd in Jan.
Randwick Roar (IRE) 8-1 (10-3) Held up, ridden and steady progress from 11th, led soon after 3 out, stayed on, ridden out, won at Kempton 2m 4f hcp chs 0-135 (3) sft in Jan beating Alphabetical (10-7) by 8l, 7 ran.
Alphabetical (IRE) 9-2 (10-10) Chased leaders, ridden approaching 4 out, soon weakened, 6th of 9, 48l behind The Hairy Lemon (11-12) at Taunton 2m 3f hcp chs 0-125 (3) sft in Jan.
Craven (IRE) 13-2 (10-11) Held up in touch, headway 11th, ridden and joined leader 14th, weakened 2 out, tailed off, 4th of 6, well behind The Dark Lord (11-8) at Fakenham 3m hcp chs 0-130 (3) gd.
Alam (USA) 15-2 (9-13) Held up towards rear, hit 2nd, ridden before 8th, struggling 4 out, 9th of 12, 29l behind Glengarra (10-12) at Cheltenham 2m hcp chs 0-135 (3) gd in Apr.
