held up towards rear, headway on inner approaching when not much room and crashed through rails and ran out 4th
always towards rear, tailed of from 4 out, pulled up before 3 out
made all, ridden before last, just held on
held up towards rear, steady headway approaching 3 out, ridden and switched right after last, chased winner last 75 yards, kept on towards finish, just held close home
prominent on outer, weakened before 4 out
tracked winner early, lost place before 3rd, soon pushed along and struggling in rear
held up mid-division, headway to chase leaders 4 out, ridden and weakened before last
tracked leaders, chased winner from 3rd, ridden before 2 out, lost 2nd and no extra final 75 yards
mid-division, headway from 2 out, soon ridden, kept on same pace
held towards rear on outer, weakened from 4 out
tracked leaders and keen, weakened from 4 out
towards rear, pushed along after 3rd, headway approaching next, ridden before 2 out, soon weakened
DONTPAYTHEFERRYMAN has won four times on the Flat at Southwell since December and continued his improvement back over hurdles at Musselburgh last time. Brian Ellison's charge can defy a rise in the weights and gets the vote ahead of Reindeer Dippin. The latter scored over fences at Ayr recently and can race off a 6lb lower mark back over timber. Night In Milan has claims after winning over further here on his latest start and Kingdom Of Munster has scope for improvement on his handicap debut. Australian hurdler Gorge was brought over for last year's Festival but was injured in the build-up. He's entered again this year and it will be interesting to see how he shapes up on today's reappearance.
Washington Irving (IRE) 8-1 (11-2) Held up in touch, effort approaching 3 out, soon weakened, 6th of 11, 22l behind Quartz De Thaix (11-12) at Aintree 2m 4f hcp hdl (2) sft in Nov.
Gorge (AUS) (9-4) won at Hanging Rock(AUS) 1m 4f hcap gs in Jan '10, 4 ran (flat).
Reindeer Dippin 9-1 (11-12) Made most, ridden clear before 3 out, kept on well, driven out, won at Ayr 2m hcp chs 0-135 (3) hvy beating Raysrock (10-13) by 7l, 7 ran.
Best Prospect (IRE) 16-1 (11-0) Held up towards rear, headway over 6f out, never on terms, weakened over 1f out, 8th of 14, 22l behind Recession Proof (11-0) at Southwell 2m Nat Hunt Flat (4yo+) (AWT) (4) std in Dec.
Dontpaytheferryman (USA) 13-8fav (10-2) Made all, kicked clear before 3 out, ridden before 2 out, kept on well, won at Musselburgh 2m hcp hdl 0-135 (3) sft beating Pokfulham (10-5) by 3 1/2l, 7 ran.
Open de L'Isle (FR) 9-1 (11-8) Tracked leaders early, held up, reminder after 8th, headway approaching 12th, weakened after 4 out, blundered 3 out, soon pulled up, in a race won by Master d'Or (10-8) at Uttoxeter 2m 6f hcp chs 0-115 (4) hvy in Jan, 9 ran.
Gifted Leader (USA) 25-1 (10-6) Always towards rear, ridden and struggling before 3 out, tailed off, 9th of 16, 26l behind Art Professor (10-5) at Cheltenham 2m 1f hcp hdl (2) gs in Jan.
Kudu Country (IRE) 4-1 (10-11) With leaders on outer, hit 1st, hit 4th, quickly weakened after 4 out, soon eased, pulled up before 3 out, in a race won by Hunterview (11-3) at Musselburgh 2m hcp hdl 0-145 (2) sft, 13 ran.
Decoy (FR) 22-1 (11-12) Mid-division, pushed along 5th, soon beaten, 7th of 10, 42l behind Highway Code (11-3) at Taunton 2m 1f Novice Handicap Hurdle (0-130) (4yo+) (3) gd.
Night In Milan (IRE) 6-4fav (11-12) Held up in rear, headway on outer approaching 5th, led before 2 out, hung left run-in, driven out, won at Newcastle 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-100 (4) hvy beating Overyou (10-1) by 1/2l, 8 ran.
Amir Pasha (UAE) 3-1 (10-9) Held up behind in touch, chased leading pair approaching 3 out, ridden to go 2nd next, 6 lengths down when pecked last, no chance with winner, 2nd of 6, 10l behind Devotion To Duty (11-3) at Musselburgh 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-135 (3) sft.
Kingdom Of Munster (IRE) 3-1 (11-0) Held up in touch, headway to track leading pair approaching 3 out, effort next, challenged and every chance when slightly bumped and not fluent last, ridden and no extra flat, 2nd of 7, 5l behind Patterning (11-0) at Musselburgh 2m 4yo mdn hdl (5) sft.
