led, mistake 12th, ridden 3 out, 4 lengths clear last, caught final 50 yards
held up, reminders after 8th, ridden after 10th, headway 13th, hit next, soon weakened, pulled up before 3 out
held up, not fluent 1st and 2nd, ridden after 10th, weakened 12th, tailed off
chased leader, effort 4 out, soon weakened, pulled up before 2 out
held up, mistake 9th, ridden after 14th, stayed on from 3 out, finished strongly, led final 50 yards
held up, blundered 6th, reminders 8th, ridden and headway 12th, weakened before 4 out, tailed off
chased leaders, went 2nd and ridden 4 out, kept on same pace from next
chased leaders, ridden after 11th, weakened after 13th, tailed off
The Real Deal is marginally preferred to Kings Euro, Dr Hart and Gidam Gidam. The selection has taken a while to get the hang of chasing but came good in no uncertain manner at Haydock last time. The handicapper has handed him a 12lb rise as a consequence but he's still well handicapped on his hurdles form and there's every reason to believe that he can reach the same heights over fences now that he's found his form. Kings Euro is very much a horse to follow and an 8lb rise for his Newbury win is by no means certain to collar him. Of more concern is any drying of the ground as he relishes soft ground and a thorough test as his heavy ground win at Towcester testifies and we're far from sure that this test will suit as well. Dr Hart is open to improvement but the handicapper has taken no chances and he'll find easier opportunities, this does represent a drop in class for Gidam Gidam but he still appears to have enough to do at the weights whilst it's easy enough to pick holes in the form of the remainder; our vote goes to The Real Deal.
Kings Euro (IRE) 7-1 (11-12) Made all, kept on gamely from 2 out, driven out, won at Newbury 2m 6f nov hcp chs 0-125 (3) gs in Feb beating Burren Legend (11-3) by 1 1/2l, 12 ran.
Dr Hart (IRE) 5-2 (11-0) Held up, headway 9th, mistake 10th, ridden 3 out, led 2 out, ridden out, won at Lingfield 3m beg chs (4) gd beating Stolen Moments (11-0) by 12l, 10 ran.
Gidam Gidam (IRE) 13-2 (10-2) Led, hit 6th, headed 8th, chased leader until lost place 5 out, beaten when blundered next, 4th of 7, 21l behind Cloudy Lane (11-9) at Doncaster 3m 2f hcp chs (2) gd.
Michael Muck 7-4 (11-4) Tracked leader, hit 12th and 13th, ridden 5 out, weakening when mistake 3 out, 3rd of 6, 26l behind Ma Yahab (10-11) at Chepstow 3m nov chs (3) gs in Feb.
The Real Deal (IRE) 15-2 (10-6) Held up, headway 9th, led approaching 3 out, clear approaching next, won at Haydock 2m 4f nov hcp chs (2) gs in Feb beating Just For Men (10-5) by 8l, 9 ran.
Malakiya (IRE) 11-1 (10-13) Mid-division, headway 8th, ridden after 4 out, chased winner, challenged flat, soon edged left, ran on near finish, just failed, 2nd of 11, hd behind Josear (10-11) at Hereford 2m nov chs (4) gd in Feb.
Stagecoach Opal 9-1 (10-11) Held up mid-division, headway 12th, chased leaders 3 out, stayed on well towards finish, 2nd of 9, 4l behind Shardakhan (11-12) at Huntingdon 3m nov hcp chs 0-125 (3) sft in Feb.
Desperate Dex (IRE) 10-1 (9-11) Held up in rear, mistake 8th, pushed along next, tailed off when pulled up at the 12th in race won by Finzi (10-5) at Bangor 3m 6f hcp chs 0-120 (3) hvy in Feb, 7 ran.
