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15:25 Cheltenham

Saturday 28 January 2017

All12:0012:3513:1013:4514:1514:5015:2516:0016:35

Neptune Investment Management Classic Novices' Hurdle (Grade 2)

Off time: 15:26 | Winning time: 5m 4.1s

1^st

Wholestone

611-10

11/4f

T: N A Twiston-DaviesJ: D A Jacob

Pressed leader, mistake 3rd, led 5th, edged right flat, stayed on well op 10/3 tchd 7/2

2^nd

William Henry

711-7

5/1

T: N J HendersonJ: D N Russell

Held up, not fluent normal 3 out, soon closed, 2nd before omitted last, soon ridden, stayed on, unable to challenge winner op 11/2

3^rd

Poetic Rhythm

611-3

16/1

T: F O'BrienJ: P J Brennan

Tracked leaders on inside, jumped slowly 2nd, ridden after normal 2 out, not pace of front pair from omitted last

4^th

2 ¾

Topofthegame

511-10

11/2

T: P F NichollsJ: N D Fehily

Tracked leaders on outside, 2nd after normal 3 out, every chance when not fluent next, one pace in 4th bypassing omitted last tchd 5/1

5^th

Elegant Escape

511-10

12/1

T: C L TizzardJ: T Scudamore

Chased leaders, not fluent 2nd, mistake 5th, lost place after normal 2 out, weakened approaching omitted last op 11/1 tchd 14/1

6^th

Coo Star Sivola

511-10

8/1

T: Nick WilliamsJ: Lizzie Kelly

Tracked leaders, ridden after normal 3 out, weakened before omitted last op 11/1

7^th

1 ½

Mr Mcgo

611-7

16/1

T: D McCain JnrJ: W T Kennedy

Led until not fluent 5th, mistake normal 3 out, soon weakened op 12/1

8^th

Sneaky Feeling

511-7

12/1

T: P Hobbs & J WhiteJ: R Johnson

Always in rear op 9/1

9^th

Keep In Line

511-7

14/1

T: A KingJ: Wayne Hutchinson

Held up towards rear on outside, lost place normal 3 out, behind when blundered next op 12/1 tchd 16/1

Also Ran

Kimberlite Candy

511-10

7/1

T: T LaceyJ: B J Geraghty

Held up in rear, pushed along before 3rd, struggling from next, behind when pulled up before normal 3 out op 13/2 tchd 6/1

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Betting Breakdown

Tote Win:£3.50Pl:£1.40, £2.00, £4.60EX:£17.40Trifecta:£217.40Tricast:£184.62SF:£16.24Swingers:£3.50, £10.00, £16.50

Forecasts

Wholestone (11/4), William Henry (5/1), Topofthegame (11/2), Kimberlite Candy (7/1), Coo Star Sivola (8/1), Elegant Escape (12/1), Sneaky Feeling (12/1), Keep In Line (14/1), Poetic Rhythm (16/1), Mr Mcgo (16/1)

Alan King has proved to be the trainer to follow in this with wins in 2012, 2015 and 2016 but his representative this time around, Keep in Line, has finished unplaced on two attempts in this grade. Wholestone has plenty of experience at this level already and sets a good standard. This especially true based on his form around this course but there may be one or two who can improve past him here. One of those would be Topofthegame who put up a hugely impressive performance when winning at Ascot on his debut despite looking very green. He’s bound to come on from that run and will have learnt plenty from the experience. Both Sneaky Feeling and WILLIAM HENRY have good bumper form and have progressed well. The former shaped well over hurdles at Newbury and will appreciate the extra distance but it’s William Henry who makes most appeal after his seven length romp at Newbury last time out in a race where Nicky Henderson always runs one of his better novices. Kimberlite Candy defends an unbeaten record and arguably deserves to be a little shorter in the market, especially on the form of his Ascot debut. 1. William Henry 2. Topofthegame 3. Kimberlite Candy