prominent, ridden and weakened 3 out
held up last, headway 3 out, ridden and challenged 2 out, left 3rd last
in touch, chased leader 6th, led 3 out, soon ridden, clear 2 out, readily
mid-division, headway after 3 out, ridden and weakened 2 out, left 4th last
prominent, chased leader 3rd, ridden and weakened 3 out, pulled up before 2 out
towards rear, headway 3 out, ridden and chased leaders 2 out, kept on
led 7th, ridden and headed 3 out, held in 3rd when fell last
chased leader, ridden 6th, weakened next, pulled up before 2 out
mid-division, headway after 5th, chased leaders next, weakened 3 out, pulled up before 2 out
Nonrunner
Nonrunner
MARKILA is the obvious starting point and is taken to supplement her Ludlow gains. Clyffe Hanger brings solid claims to the table whilst Walk Tall, Quinte Du Chatelet, Snake Hips and Illogical Hope are all worth monitoring. Henry Daly's mare routed the field at Ludlow over two miles and it's no surprise to see her reappear under a penalty as the handicapper is sure to raise her by more than the 7lbs extra that she carries. It was a fairly ordinary mares' contest that she won but it was hard not to be impressed by the style. Clyffe Hanger ran really well at Kempton and lines up from the same mark but has to drop back a couple of furlongs in trip which may not be ideal and it's for that reason that we'll take the nine year old on. Quinte Du Chatelet only needed to jump round to score on his British debut on heavy ground; his win in France came on soft but his other starts have been run on much faster ground. He makes his handicap debut as do Walk Tall, Snake Hips and Illogical Hope who have shown varying degrees of promise but the last two will need to leave their previous efforts some way behind. The market could prove interesting but there's no guesswork involved in assessing Markila and she's the pick.
Quinte du Chatelet (FR) 10-1 (11-3) Led, ridden and hit 3 out, soon headed, weakened approaching 2 out, 4th of 12, 46l behind Leamington Lad (10-12) at N Abbot 2m 3f nov hdl (4) gd in Aug.
Markila (FR) 11-1 (11-11) Held up, headway to go in touch 4th, tracked leader 3 out, soon led, clear last, won at Ludlow 2m mrs hcp hdl (4) sft in Jan beating Miss Pebbles (10-9) by 7l, 17 ran.
Alasao 5-1 (11-4) Soon prominent, chased winner 6th, ridden 3 out, weakened approaching last, 3rd of 8, 26l behind How's Business (11-12) at Exeter 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gd in Jan.
Walk Tall (IRE) 11-1 (11-3) Mid-division until weakened after 7th, 8th of 21, 34l behind Edgbriar (11-13) at Doncaster 2m 3f nh nov hdl (3) sft in Jan.
Young Tot (IRE) 50-1 (10-11) Prominent until ridden and weakened after 6th, 10th of 15, well behind Dancewiththedevil (10-3) at Taunton 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-120 (3) gs in Dec.
Snake Hips 25-1 (10-12) Mid-division, weakened 3 out, 12th of 16, well behind Covert Mission (10-2) at Hereford 2m 1f nov hdl (4) sft in Dec.
Clyffe Hanger (IRE) 7-2fav (10-13) In touch, headway 8th, went 2nd after 3 out, hit next, soon ridden, chance last, kept on for clear 2nd but no extra, 2nd of 19, 2l behind Wychwoods Legend (11-9) at Kempton 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-110 (4) sft in Jan.
Share My Dream (IRE) 14-1 (9-13) Always towards rear, no impression, 7th of 15, 36l behind Dancewiththedevil (10-3) at Taunton 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-120 (3) gs in Dec.
Spirit of Lake (IRE) 40-1 (10-6) In touch, headway 3 out, soon ridden and effort, one pace after, 3rd of 18, 20l behind Gold Reef (11-5) at Wincanton 2m nov hcp hdl 0-100 (4) gs in Dec.
Archie Gunn 10-1 (10-9) In touch, lost place 5th, ridden and headway on inside approaching 3 out, soon one pace, 4th of 12, 5l behind Red Admiral (11-8) at Ludlow 2m hcp hdl 0-125 (3) sft in Jan.
Illogical Hope (IRE) 100-1 (10-9) Chased leaders, weakened 4 out, 11th of 15, 36l behind Son of Flicka (10-12) at Bangor 2m 1f nh nov hdl (4) sft in Dec.
It's Rumoured 6-1 (10-12) Led to after 1st, chased leader until weakened rapidly before 5th and pulled up 4 out in race won by Rosoff (10-9) at Plumpton 2m hcp hdl 0-105 (4) hvy in Dec, 14 ran.
