Crus disappoints on his return at Kempton God's Own (11/4) ran out a commanding winner of the Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle as Grands Crus disappointed at Kempton. Tom George's five-year-old kept something of an errant course on the run in but Paddy Brennan refused to panic and he could afford to coast home some six lengths clear of his rivals. Pateese made the running in the 2m5f contest at a steady pace but Grands Crus, who had raced keenly in the early stages, pulled himself to the front as they went to the fifth flight and all appeared promising with David Pipe's grey. The winner began to make his move with four to jump and having jumped slightly across the leader as they negotiated the second last; he continued to edge right and momentarily took the pair onto the chase track. Grand Crus weakened tamely following the incident and the winner put the race to bed with Brennan allowing himself the luxury of easing down before the finish. Like Minded plugged on from a long way back to get up for second place. The Crafty Butcher, for Michael Hourigan and Barry Geraghty, was backed from 4/1 to 1/4 on-course, but he finished a disappointing last of the six runners.
