held up in rear, headway approaching 3 out, switched right before next, soon went 3rd, stayed on flat
held up in touch, not fluent 2nd or when closing 7th, ridden 3 out, disputing 4 lengths 3rd when fell 2 out
held up towards rear, headway approaching 3 out, went 2nd before next, stayed on flat, unable to close gap to winner
held up in touch, closed after 5th, no extra 2 out, blundered last
led, headed 5th, led again 8th, headed after next, no extra 2 out
mid-division, headway after 9th, switched right to stands rail and led after 3 out, 3 lengths clear last, driven to hold advantage flat
towards rear, not fluent 4th, behind 8th, pulled up after next
tracked leaders, jumped slowly and reminders 6th, outpaced after 9th, stayed on from 2 out, went 4th flat, no chance with leaders
tracked leaders, mistake 4th, ridden and lost place before 6th, behind 8th, pulled up after next
tracked leader, challenged 4th, led next, headed 8th, led again after next, not fluent 3 out, soon headed, no extra when hampered 2 out
held up in mid-division, headway when hit 3 out, soon ridden, no extra in 4th before last
held up in rear, not fluent 4th, ridden after 7th, behind 9th, tailed off
A tricky opener as most of these have some sort of chance on their best form. We'll stick with DREAM AGAIN BOYS, who is on a hat-trick after wins at Ffos Las and Warwick. He's suffered an inevitable rise up the weights and both of those victories were on heavy ground but he won on good to soft last season and may still be improving. Water Garden is one of those who are potentially well treated while veteran Kayf Aramis is still capable of a bold showing. Ballytober was no match for O'Faolains Boy in a novice event at Bangor last time, however, while The Romford Pele may be better over 2m4f. Monetary Fund weakened two out here last time and may be too high in the weights now.
Monetary Fund (USA) 10-1 (10-11) In touch, headway to chase leaders approaching 4 out, went 2nd before next, lost 2nd 3 out, weakened approaching 2 out, 7th of 18, 29l behind Master Of The Sea (10-11) at Newbury 3m hcp hdl 0-145 (2) sft in Feb.
Ballytober 6-1 (11-8) Held up in touch, mistakes 7th and 8th, jumped left next, stayed on under pressure to take 2nd last, no chance with winner, 2nd of 9, 13l behind O'faolains Boy (10-11) at Bangor 3m nov hdl (3) hvy in Feb.
Water Garden (FR) 20-1 (11-0) Held up towards rear, steady headway to mid-division 5th, staying on same pace and well held when switched left before last, went left last, weakened run-in, 6th of 18, 21l behind Master Of The Sea (10-11) at Newbury 3m hcp hdl 0-145 (2) sft in Feb.
The Romford Pele (IRE) 10-1 (9-11) Held up in touch, challenged after 6th, led 3 out, soon headed, no extra when mistake last, 4th of 14, 17l behind Medinas (10-10) at Ffos Las 2m 4f ltd hcp hdl (2) hvy in Feb.
Kayf Aramis 6-1 (11-5) Led, pushed along after 4 out, headed before 3 out, rallied and every chance when blundered badly 2 out, not recover, 3rd of 7, 8l behind Herdsman (10-8) at Wetherby 3m 1f hcp hdl 0-135 (3) sft in Feb.
Buck Magic (IRE) 9-2 (11-9) Held up in touch on inside, mistake 3 out, ridden in 4th and beaten when not fluent 2 out, soon weakened, 4th of 9, 37l behind Benvolio (11-3) at Wincanton 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-135 (3) hvy in Feb.
Off The Ground (IRE) 8-1 (11-12) In rear, outpaced 10th, mistake 3 out, never dangerous, 6th of 14, 25l behind Relax (11-10) at Doncaster 3m hcp chs 0-125 (3) sft in Feb.
Destroyer Deployed 7-4fav (11-4) Led, ridden and headed over 4f out, ridden over 2f out, soon one pace, 8th of 12, 22l behind Karinga Dancer (11-4) at Kempton 2m n h flat (5) std in Jan.
Dream Again Boys (IRE) 7-1 (11-7) In touch, chased leaders before 5 out, ridden to challenge 2 out, pressed leader last, led narrowly run-in, just held on, won at Warwick 3m 1f hcp hdl 0-120 (4) hvy in Feb beating Prime Location (11-2) by ns, 15 ran.
Bygones Sovereign (IRE) 7-1 (10-7) Held up in rear, weakened after 9th, pulled up before 3 out, in a race won by Ugly Bug (11-0) at Ffos Las 3m mdn hdl (4) hvy in Feb, 13 ran.
Iron Chancellor (IRE) 9-2 (11-12) Held up towards rear, weakened before 3 out, soon pulled up, in a race won by Arkose (11-12) at Kempton 3m hcp hdl 0-120 (4) sft in Nov, 9 ran.
Cuban Piece (IRE) 20-1 (10-1) Held up in rear, headway to chase leaders halfway, mistake 12th, ridden next, soon weakened, tailed off, 5th of 8, well behind Bendant (11-0) at Ffos Las 2m 5f beg chs (4) hvy in Dec.
