chased leader, led 6th, ridden 2 out, hit last, soon headed, no extra towards finish
mid-division, headway after 5th, weakened and pulled up before 3 out
held up towards rear, never on terms
mid-division, headway approaching 6th, outpaced 3 out, rallied approaching 2 out, weakened last
chased leaders, reminder after 5th, chased leader after 6th, not fluent 3 out, hanging left before 2 out, every chance last, no extra flat
led to 6th, weakened approaching 3 out
took keen hold, held up well in rear, headway approaching 2 out, led soon after last, ran on well
jumped moderately, held up, headway after 6th, weakened 3 out
held up towards rear, headway after 4th, outpaced 3 out, hung left and rallied before 2 out, ran on to take 2nd close home
pulled hard, held up, reminder approaching 6th, effort before 3 out, soon weakened
held up well in rear, jumped right 5th, soon lost touch
chased leaders, weakened 3 out, blundered last
It may be worth siding with EVELITH ECHO ahead of Norman The Great and Kingscape. Norman The Great is arguably the form pick following his third in a falsely run race at Newbury but his strike rate is only modest which is enough to put us off given his likely starting price. Pascha Bere looked like a winner in waiting following his run here in October but that success failed to materialise and he has questions to answer as a consequence. Pagano, Lemon Silk and Kingscape have been struggling for form but the latter looked good when winning his maiden here and his yard had a well backed and easy winner at the weekend; it would be no great surprise to see him perform better. Mae Cigan and the remarkable Orpen Wide come into the race in form but this is a step up for the former and the latter could struggle in a potentially better race under his penalty. Evelith Echo was tailed off at this track on his final start for Alan King but he was a promising individual early in his career when his performances included a short-head defeat by County Zen at Ascot. He hasn't got too many miles on the clock and it's possible that he may have been sweetened up by a change of scenery in which case he's not on too bad a mark. John Quinn has his string in decent form and Evelith Echo may prove capable of causing an upset.
Pascha Bere (FR) 4-1jt-fav (11-2) Chased leaders, 6th and weakening when hit last, 8th of 15, 6l behind Ingratitude (11-9) at Kempton 2m hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gd in Dec.
Norman The Great 6-1 (10-13) Chased leaders, challenged 2 out, soon slight lead, headed last, no extra flat, 3rd of 8, 5l behind Secret Tune (10-8) at Newbury 2m hcp hdl 0-135 (3) gd in Feb.
Evelith Echo 13-2 (11-10) Took keen hold in mid-division, headway 6th, not fluent and reminder 8th, weakened after 3 out, 8th of 10, 46l behind Grand Slam Hero (11-7) at Stratford 3m 3f hcp hdl 0-135 (3) gd in May.
Pagano (IRE) 25-1 (11-3) Held up in mid-division, ridden and struggling in rear when hit 3 out, tailed off when pulled up 2 out in race won by Royaleety (10-2) at Kempton 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-135 (3) gd in Dec, 19 ran.
Kingscape (IRE) 11-1 (11-2) fell in race won by White On Black (10-1) at Wincanton 2m hcp hdl 0-125 (3) gs in Jan, 11 ran.
Orpen Wide (IRE) 14-1 (11-7) Chased leader, led after 3 out, ridden approaching last, ran on flat, won at Huntingdon 2m hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gd beating Sam Lord (11-8) by 4 1/2l, 10 ran.
L'Eau Du Nil (FR) 9-1 (11-5) Mid-division, headway approaching 2 out, soon ridden, kept on from last, 3rd of 12, 2 1/2l behind King Caine (11-9) at Taunton 2m 1f clm hdl (5) hvy in Feb.
Mae Cigan (FR) 7-1 (11-9) Held up and keen, not fluent 2nd, headway 4 out, ridden and close up last, led soon after, ridden out, won at Chepstow 2m nov hcp hdl 0-110 (4) sft in Feb beating Shali San (11-6) by 2 1/2l, 10 ran.
Starr Flyer 25-1 (11-10) In touch, lost place 2nd, some headway approaching 2 out but no impression, 7th of 16, 26l behind Gainsborough's Art (10-4) at Huntingdon 2m nov hcp hdl 0-105 (4) gs in Feb.
Desert Lover (IRE) 10-1 (11-2) Led until tried to refuse and unseated rider in race won by Robert The Brave (10-9) at Uttoxeter 2m nov hdl (4) gf in Jun, 15 ran.
Lemon Silk (IRE) 25-1 (11-2) Soon driven along in rear, effort to chase leaders 6th, weakened before next, 8th of 11, 21l behind Bugsy's Boy (11-10) at Plumpton 2m hcp hdl 0-115 (4) sft in Feb.
Danikhali (IRE) 14-1 (10-9) Mid-division, moderate 7th halfway, headway to 5th 4 out, mistake and unseated rider 3 out in race won by Top Mark (11-7) at Clonmel 2m ldy hcp hdl sft in Feb, 12 ran.
Rapide Plaisir (IRE) 11-1 (11-3) Chased leaders until fell at the 2nd in race won by Pepsyrock (11-0) at Newbury 2m 1f hcp chs 0-130 (3) gd in Feb, 8 ran.
