never better than mid-division
led, ridden and headed two out, stayed on well
held up, effort 3f out, kept on one pace
held up, hit 2nd, effort 3 out, soon beaten
always prominent, ridden 3 out, one paced from next
held up, never near
in touch, joined leader after 3 out, led next, driven and all out
held up, never dangerous
held up, headway 5th, soon one paced
tracked leader, ridden and weakened after 5th
A juvenile handicap at this time of year is never easy, and this one looks difficult to fathom. Honeys Gift showed her first form over hurdles at Fakenham last time and is potentially on a fair mark, but that was on heavy ground and is not one to rely on on this faster surface. Environment Audit was better than most of these on the flat, and would have an excellent chance if reproducing his second to Bongo Fury at Sandown, but has had too many bad runs to fancy with any confidence. A much more reliable prospect is Fortunate Dave, who has yet to run a bad race over timber. His best effort probably came when chasing home The Last Cast at Bangor a couple of starts ago, and he was far from disgraced behind the smart Old California last time. He seems sure top go well in what is a very tricky race, but marginal preference goes to the slightly better handicapped Sloane Street. Denis Caro's charge was seven lengths behind Fortunate Dave in a good race at Cheltenham in November, and reopposes here on 18 pounds better terms. While he has yet to really make his mark over hurdles, he is held in some regard and would not have to improve a great deal to play a part in the finish here.
