held up in touch, headway to chase leaders approaching 6th, led approaching 2 out, headed last, no extra towards finish
towards rear, outpaced 4th, ridden after next, soon struggling
held up towards rear, never dangerous
held up towards rear, headway approaching 6th, soon chasing leaders, one pace from last
held up in touch, led after 4th, headed approaching 2 out, soon weakened
track leader, pushed along approaching 6th, weakened approaching 3 out
led until after 4th, weakened from 3 out, soon pulled up
tracked leaders, weakened approaching 2 out
held up mid-division, soon towasrd rear, headway approaching 3 out, ridden approaching next, no impression from last
in rear, headway approaching 2 out, led last, kept on well
Sean Curran's Classic Dream should appreciate the drop in class today having struggled in better quality contests at Cheltenham and Newbury in his last two starts but he looks to be too high in the weights now and a better bet seems to be ALAZAN, who gets the vote over Just Rob. Ian Williams has his team in good form and the son of Robellino has to be considered on ground that should be more suitable than the heavy going that he encountered at Wincanton last time. Gary Moore's Mon Michel was well held on his reappearance and first start since November 2008 at Kempton last month and is hard to recommend with a bigger threat likely to come from Imperial Shabra, who has yet to win a race from 12 starts but is trained by Patrick O Brady and all Irish runners have to be considered on Irish Day at Stratford. Brian Ellison's Elite Land was well held behind Qozak at Taunton last time and looks readily discounted in a race taken to go to Alazan. Philip Hobbs has his team in good heart now and the four-year-old looks worth siding with back in a handicap having won well in a novice hurdle at Doncaster when last seen in December.
Classic Dream (GER) 11-2 (10-7) Pressed leader, led 3rd, kept narrow advantage, mistake and headed 3 out, well there until weakened before last, 5th of 9, 5l behind Arctic Wings (10-1) at Newbury 2m hcp hdl 0-135 (3) gs.
Nothing's Easy (IRE) 28-1 (11-9) Held up in rear, weakened from 3 out, last of 10, well behind Bella Haze (11-3) at Hereford 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-125 (3) sft.
Mon Michel (IRE) 33-1 (11-2) Held up in touch, hampered 4th, soon chasing leaders, weakened approaching 2 out, 5th of 6, 38l behind Punjabi (11-10) at Kempton 2m hdl (2) sft in Feb.
Just Rob 9-2 (11-0) Held up, ridden 2 out, never dangerous, 7th of 8, 17l behind Benfleet Boy (11-11) at Wincanton 2m hcp hdl 0-130 (3) hvy in Feb.
Alazan (IRE) 9-4fav (11-5) Led after 1st, made rest, stayed on well from last, won at Doncaster 2m 3yo nov hdl (4) gd in Dec beating Descaro (10-12) by 1 3/4l, 15 ran.
Dark Oasis 66-1 (11-1) Led to 6th, chased leaders, weakened after 3 out, 5th of 8, 20l behind Advisor (11-4) at Ascot 2m 4yo nov hdl (3) sft in Jan.
Tiermore (IRE) 25-1 (10-13) Tracked leaders, weakened after 4 out, pulled up next, in a race won by Gold Award (11-3) at Ffos Las 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) sft in Jan, 14 ran.
Melvino 11-1 (11-5) Chased leaders, went 2nd 6th, led approaching 2 out, soon clear, won at Stratford 2m ldys hcp hdl 0-100 (4) gf in Oct '08 beating Calloff The Search (9-12) by 13l, 13 ran.
Imperial Shabra (IRE) 10-1 (10-9) Chased leaders, 7th halfway, slight mistake 3 out, ridden in 11th and no impression 2 out, kept on same pace from before last, 8th of 25, 8l behind Ballochroy (10-7) at Naas 2m hcp hdl 80-102.
Elite Land 7-1 (10-0) Held up in rear, 6th and no chance when mistake 2 out, 6th of 13, 35l behind Qozak (11-10) at Taunton 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-135 (3) sft in Jan.
