16:40
Oddschecker Sefton Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1) (GBB Race)
Grade 1, Class 1, 3m149y, Hurdle, 4yo+, 13 runners
Winning time 6m 11.86s
- Going
- Good
- Surface
- Turf
- Jumps
- 13 hurdles
Result
Gavin Sheehan
Jamie Snowden
Settled towards the back of the pack - clipped the first - made progress before 3 out - pressed for effort before 2 out - hit front on the run-in and kept going strongly
Sean Bowen
Gary Hanmer
Held up rear early - made progress from outer approaching 3 out - scrappy over last two obstacles - eased left in the straight - finished strongly to snatch second near the line
Sam Twiston-Davies
Anthony Honeyball
Up with the front group early before slipping back through the field - stumbled at the 5th - improved position before the 8th - shifted right approaching two out - stayed on well towards the finish - snatched third right on the line
Jonjo O'Neill Jr
Jonjo & A J O'Neill
Settled towards back of the pack early - improved from 4 out - moved into second smoothly and drifted left 3 out - hit the front 2 out - drifted left again and blundered last - driven out but overtaken in the final stride and gave up two spots near the line to finish 4th
Danny Gilligan
Gordon Elliott
Tracked front pair briefly early - settled off the pace - made ground from four out and moved left before three out - blundered at the last - unable to find more late finished fifth
Nico de Boinville
Nicky Henderson
Jumped a bit untidily early - up in touch with the pace - hit the front before 3 out but faltered at 2 out and lost command - eased off the bit in the closing stages to finish 6th
Paul Townend
W P Mullins
Handy enough on the outer early - dropped back after a sluggish jump second - nudged into contention past four out but couldn't threaten - form gone by two out - finished a distant seventh
Brendan Powell
Joe Tizzard
Settled towards back early - nudged into contention 3 out but couldn't threaten leaders - dropped away steadily from 2 out
Craig Nichol
Lucinda Russell
Sat close to the front pack early - under pressure and losing touch near the back by the 7th - eased and pulled up after 4 out
Jamie Hamilton
Mark Walford
Settled handy early - hit front before 2nd but soon overtaken - back in command from 5th before losing that spot after 7th - regained advantage before the following fence - lost lead 3 out - faded and pulled up before 3 out
Sam Ewing
Gordon Elliott
Sat close behind the front pack early - dropped away after the 4th from home - faded badly and was eased out of contention before the 3rd out
James Bowen
Nicky Henderson
Struggled for fluency from early stages - always towards the back - eased and pulled up before 5th
Tom Bellamy
Kim Bailey & Mat Nicholls
Not the smoothest start - hit front briefly before 2nd then back in command after - lost advantage 5th and clipped the following fence - back in front after 7th before yielding lead 8th - error at 9th - disputed front again 4 out then overtaken before 3 out - effort faded soon after - pulled up before the last
Non-runners: Jet Blue (vet's certificate, temperature), Jupiter Des Mottes (withdrawn; unsuitable ground), Laganhill (unsuitable ground)
Draw in brackets. Headgear: b blinkers, v visor, h hood, t tongue strap, p cheekpieces, e/s eye shield; ¹ first time. C course winner, D distance winner, CD course and distance winner. Form reads oldest to newest.