towards rear, mistake 2nd, headway 6th, ridden approaching 2 out, weakened before next
prominent to 6th, tailed off and pulled up before 2 out
always behind, tailed off and pulled up before 2 out
towards rear, headway approaching 6th, ridden 2 out, soon weakened
left in lead 1st, clear last, stayed on well
hampered 1st, behind from 5th, tailed off and pulled up before 2 out
mid-division, ridden approaching 7th, soon weakened
mid-division, headway 5th, hit 3 out, soon ridden, weakened next
behind, headway 5th, ridden approaching 2 out, soon weakened
chased leaders, hit 3rd, weakened approaching 6th
led, jumped badly left and unseated rider 1st
always behind, tailed off and pulled up before 2 out
keen, soon prominent, 3rd when blundered badly and unseated rider 4th
in touch when 2nd approaching 3 out, soon ridden, weakened before next
tracked leaders, hampered 1st, ridden after 3 out, soon weakened
mid-division, hampered and rider lost iron 1st, headway 6th, went 2nd approaching 2 out, ridden approaching last, no extra flat
An interesting novices' event and it should throw a fair number of winners. There are any number to consider but we'll side with Tollbrae ahead of Plastic Paddy, Roschal and Bob ar Aghaidh. Running through the field. Arctic Playboy has some reasonable bumper form to his credit, and Bison King has also shown promise in that sphere. Bob ar Aghaidh certainly has form enough to be on the shortlist here although, having proven he stays three miles on heavy, the drop in trip on his seasonal return might not be ideal. Gaora Bridge is hard to assess, while the form of King's Echo's second at Folkestone last time suggested he could win a race but the overall form is modest. Irish import Lonesome Man, although unproven at the trip, has form enough to warrant consideration. Mohawk Brave was third in a two-mile bumper at this track in May. He's well-bred for this game but, like a number of others in the contest, is making his hurdling debut so others are preferred. Plastic Paddy won a two-mile bumper here on soft in December 2002. His dam is a sister to Hennessy Gold Cup winner Couldn't Be Better so the step up in trip should not pose any problems. Roschal showed promise in a falsely-run Sandown bumper on his racing debut. The Philip Hobbs-trained gelding was backed that day so is clearly considered to possess ability, so has to be respected on his hurdling debut. Spring Lover ran well at Folkestone last time but the form is not strong. This leads us to the Nicky Henderson-trained Tollbrae. He's well-bred for this game, has shown solid bumper and hurdling form to date and, for us, that makes him a worthy selection for this good novices; hurdle that closes the card.
