prominent, led on bit 3 out, shaken up 2 out, ran on well from last
mid-division, ridden after 3 out, weakened approaching 2 out
held up in mid-division, ridden some headway from 3 out, kept on same pace from 2 out
led, headed after 3 out, soon ridden, stayed on one pace from 2 out, mistake last
mid-division, weakened 5th, tailed off 3 out
towards rear, ridden after 3 out, weakened approaching 2 out
mid-division, ridden 3 out, soon weakened
held up towards rear, ridden and weakened 3 out
in touch, ridden after 3 out, kept on one pace
prominent, ridden and headway to challenge 2 out, not quicken from last
held up towards rear and pulled hard, saddle slipped and pulled up after 4th
prominent, mistake 3rd, weakened 6th, behind
towards rear, weakened approaching 5th, soon behind
Neveesou gets the call here ahead of Blaeberry and Vaughan. Blaeberry finished a very good second to the admittedly-easy winner Blaeberry here last time and ought to go well again, but Martin Pipe runs an Auteuil winner in Neveesou so has to be given every respect. However, have a look at the betting too. Vaughan was rated in the 90s on the Flat and that looks a good profile for this type of contest, and, rated in the 80s on the Flat, Selective has shown some hurdling promise and could go well. Mr Tambourine Man would not be out of it based on his Flat form of 14 months ago, while Landescent's third to Silver City here last time was not a bad effort. Finally, Red Moor earns some respect as a winner and, from the Philip Hobbs yard, Storm Of Applause has to be afforded some sort of respect. However, we prefer Neveesou, who gets the vote.
Neveesou (FR) (10-3) won at Auteuil 2m 2f hdl hvy in Nov beating Nozic (10-6) by 2 1/2l, 14 ran.
Red Moor (IRE) 9-1 (11-5) Tracked leaders, ridden to lead approaching 2 out, hung left and headed approaching last, soon weakened, 2nd of 8, 3l behind Irish Wolf (10-12) at Southwell 2m 1f nov hdl (E) gf in Aug.
Landescent (IRE) 22-1 (11-2) Prominent, ridden and chased winner 3 out, kept on from last, 3rd of 14, 1 1/2l behind Silver City (11-2) at Taunton 2m 1f mdn hdl (E) gf in Nov.
Mr Tambourine Man (IRE) 33-1 (9-1) Keen, held up, headway 7f out, weakened 2f out, soon eased, 12th of 13, 41l behind Vaughan (9-13) at Newmarket 1m 4f clm (4) gs in Oct (Flat).
Selective 8-1 (10-12) In touch, ridden after 3 out, weakened 2 out, 8th of 17, 26l behind Siberian Highness (10-5) at Warwick 2m nov hdl (E) gd in Nov.
Storm of Applause (IRE) 11-4 (10-11) Held up, ridden over 4f out, headway over 3f out, weakened over 1f out, 5th of 11, 16l behind Rimsky (10-11) at Bangor 2m 1f nhf (H) gd in Mar.
Vaughan 3-1fav (9-13) Chased leaders, ridden to lead inside final furlong, ran on, won at Newmarket 1m 4f clm (4) gs in Oct beating Top The Charts (9-2) by 2l, 13 ran (Flat).
Blaeberry 50-1 (10-5) Held up last, headway after 3 out, pushed along next, kept on but no chance with winner, 2nd of 14, 5l behind Natal (11-8) at Taunton 2m 1f nov hdl (C) gd.
