chased leaders, stumbled approaching 7th, hit 3 out, led 2 out, ridden, headed last, not quicken flat
mid-division, lost place 4th, soon not much room, headway 8th, outpaced after 3 out, stayed on flat
in touch, ridden after 8th, weakened quickly
mid-division, ridden 6th, weakened 3 out
led, hit 5th, headed 2 out, soon ridden, weakened flat
chased leaders, every chance 3 out, ridden next, weakened flat
held up, headway approaching 8th, ridden to lead, hit last, ran on
behind, headway after 7th, outpaced, not fluent 3 out, stayed on flat
chased leaders to 8th, soon weakened
mid-division, headway, hit 8th, ridden 3 out, weakened next
mid-division, mistake 5th, weakened quickly after 7th, tailed off, pulled up before 3 out
mid-division, headway 7th, ridden 3 out, weakened 2 out
with leader to approaching 8th, soon behind
held up, headway 8th, ridden 3 out, stayed on flat
always behind
in touch until weakened, mistake 5th
always behind
At the time of writing Black Jack Ketchum is set to bypass this contest for the Brit Insurance Hurdle on Friday and so the task has been made easier for Denman who is a confident choice to beat Mr Nosie, Refinement and Nicanor.The Paul Nicholls trained gelding has landed four races in a row and is looking more and more impressive. His comprehensive victory here over The Cool Guy and Boychuck in January stands out as the best form on show and if he repeats that effort he will be very hard to beat. The best of the Irish runners has to be Mr Nosie. Noel Meade's five-year-old is also unbeaten this season and was landing the hat-trick when comfortably beating Royaldou in a Grade one event at Leopardstown. The runner up has let the form down since, but the manor of Mr Nosie's win suggests there is plenty more in the locker and he looks the one for the forecast. With the defection of Black Jack Ketchum Jonjo relies on Refinement, who has made the transition from bumpers to hurdling with the minimum of fuss. She is unbeaten in five events so far and as she goes on any ground a big run can be expected. Nicanor, a stable companion of Mr Nosie, was very impressive at Leopardstown last time out and looks the pick of the remainder, but if Denman can reproduce his course form they will not see which way he goes.
Denman (IRE) 1-12fav (11-13) Chased leader, led approaching 7th, soon clear, easily, won at Bangor 3m nov hdl (3) gd in Feb beating One Sniff (11-5) by 17l, 7 ran.
Glasker Mill (IRE) 5-2fav (11-11) Held up mid-division, headway approaching 5th, led approaching 3 out, ridden out, won at Haydock 2m 4f nov hdl (4) hvy in Jan beating Liathroidisneachta (11-5) by 5l, 14 ran.
Le Comte Est Bon (USA) (10-8) Chased leaders, effort 2 out, led last, ran on well, won at Auteuil 2m 1f hdl hvy beating Kazimierski (10-8) by 3l, 18 ran.
Letterman (IRE) 7-4fav (11-12) Always close up, led before 2 out, clear before last, eased run-in, won at Down Royal 2m 4f hdl gs in Feb beating County Final (11-12) by 4l, 14 ran.
Mr Nosie (IRE) 11-10fav (11-7) Tracked leaders, 2nd from 5th, slightly hampered 4 out, 3rd and ridden after 2 out, led before last, slight mistake, stayed on well, eased close home, won at Leopardstown 2m 2f nov hdl Grd 1 (1) gs in Feb beating Royaldou (11-7) by 3l.
Mr Pointment (IRE) Evensfav (11-9) Tracked leader, led 5th, ridden 2 out, hit last, driven out, won at Fakenham 2m 4f nh nov hdl (4) sft in Feb beating Dusky Lord (11-13) by 6l, 5 ran.
Nicanor (FR) 10-11fav (10-12) Tracked leaders on outer, improved into 3rd 4 out, led travelling easily approaching 2 out, edged clear before last, not extended, won at Leopardstown 2m 4f nov hdl Grd 3 (1) gs in Jan beating Travino (11-12) by 11l, 8 ran.
Rimsky (IRE) 22-1 (11-11) Tracked winner, ridden to challenge 3 out, every chance next, one pace and no impression, 2nd of 5, 7l behind Neptune Collonges (11-11) at Wetherby 3m 1f nov hdl Grd 2 (1) sft in Feb.
Something Gold (FR) 40-1 (11-3) Held up, ridden and headway 4 out, weakening when hit next, 4th of 8, 23l behind Refinement (11-0) at Huntingdon 2m 4f nov hdl (2) gs in Feb.
The Mick Weston 3-1fav (11-12) Held up, headway after 2 out, no impression approaching last, 5th of 15, 10l behind Pirate Flagship (11-9) at Cheltenham 2m 1f nov hcp hdl (3) gs in Jan.
Turnstile 2-5fav (11-13) Tracked leaders, led after 7th, clear approaching last, stayed on well, won at Catterick 2m 3f nov hdl (4) gd in Jan beating That's Rhythm (11-1) by 5l, 11 ran.
Zaiyad (IRE) (10-10) Made all, canter, won at Cagnes-Sur-mer 2m 3f hdl gd in Dec beating Espoir De Kerbarh (10-10) by 4l, 5 ran.
Heltornic (IRE) 9-2 (11-7) Led, ridden and headed after 8th, soon weakened and eased, 6th of 7, 18l behind She's Our Native (11-4) at Ludlow 2m 5f mrs hcp hdl (2) gf in Feb.
Refinement (IRE) 4-6fav (11-0) Held up in rear, headway 6th, travelling well 2 out, led last, easily, won at Huntingdon 2m 4f nov hdl (2) gs in Feb beating Raffaello (11-7) by 13l, 8 ran.
She's Our Native (IRE) 13-8fav (11-4) Chased leaders, led approaching 3 out, driven out, won at Ludlow 2m 5f mrs hcp hdl (2) gf in Feb beating Dancing Pearl (11-12) by 3l, 7 ran.
Investment Wings (IRE) 16-1 (10-12) Prominent, outpaced 5th, 4th and beaten when mistake last, 4th of 9, 14l behind Opera de Coeur (11-4) at Warwick 2m 4yo nov hdl (3) hvy in Feb.
Legally Fast (USA) 10-1 (11-1) Mid-division, headway 6th, ridden, every chance mistake 2 out, soon faded, 5th of 15, 18l behind Herakles (11-9) at Huntingdon 2m 4f nov hcp hdl 0-110 (4) gd in Feb.
Eamon An Chnoic (IRE) 16-1 (10-4) Behind, tailed off from 7th and pulled up at the last in race won by Oscatello (11-0) at Market Rasen 2m 3f mdn hdl (F) gs in Dec, 12 ran.
