held up in rear, pushed along and outpaced 3 out, headway well before next, 3rd 2 out, driven and closed flat, went 2nd close home, not pace to get to winner
took keen hold, tracked leaders, challenged 3 out, led soon after, 3 lengths ahead when blundered badly 2 out, went right last, ridden and kept on flat, held on gamely
tracked leaders, jumped slowly 4 out, 2nd well before 2 out, driven between last 2, closed flat, just held when lost 2nd close home
raced keenly, with leader, led 4th, headed soon after 3 out, weakened soon after
held up in last pair, headway into 3rd well before 2 out, blundered badly and lost 3rd 2 out, not recover
took keen hold, eventually led after 19 seconds and set slow pace, narrowly headed 4th, chased leader until 3 out, weakened soon after
JOLLY'S CRACKED IT and Clondaw Banker both looked potentially smart when 1-2 over the track and trip three weeks ago. The former came out on top and was probably better value than the winning margin suggests as he made a couple of novice errors in the latter stages. Nicky Henderson wouldn't be sending the runner-up for a rematch unless thought capable of reversing the form on 5lb better terms but we'll stick with the winner. Jebril had been going quite well on the Flat before making a successful hurdling debut at Plumpton but meets much better opposition here. Wilberdragon has a nice pedigree for jumping so did well to land a bumper on this track at the beginning of the month.
Jebril (FR) 12-1 (11-0) Mid-division, headway approaching 3 out, 2nd 2 out, pushed along to challenge last, ridden and stayed on to lead final 125 yards, won at Plumpton 2m mdn hdl (5) gd in Oct beating Prouts Pub (11-0) by 1 1/4l, 13 ran.
Jolly's Cracked It (FR) 11-4 (10-12) Tracked leaders on outside, 2nd before 4 out, led after 3 out, clear when went right and hit 2 out, ridden before last where went right again, edged left and driven out run in, won at Ascot 2m nh nov hdl (3) gd beating Clondaw Banker (10-12) by 3 1/2l, 8 ran.
Clondaw Banker (IRE) 7-4fav (10-12) Tracked leaders until stumbled and lost place 4th, rallied approaching 4 out, chased leaders next, went right and not fluent 2 out, hanging right and driven into 2nd between last two, went right again last, kept on same pace run in, 2nd of 8, 3 1/2l behind Jolly's Cracked It (10-12) at Ascot 2m nh nov hdl (3) gd.
General Montgomery (IRE) 10-1 (10-12) Held up in mid-division, pushed along chasing leaders after 4 out, weakened before next, 6th of 12, 46l behind Ordo Ab Chao (11-5) at Huntingdon 2m 4f nh nov hdl (4) gs.
Wilberdragon 16-1 (10-7) Held up towards rear, headway under pressure over 2f out, led entering final 2f, ridden clear final furlong, won at Ascot 2m NH flat (4) gd beating Desilvano (11-0) by 2 1/4l, 12 ran.
Kayflin (FR) 20-1 (10-11) Held up towards rear, effort 2f out, never dangerous, 11th of 15, 12l behind Ericht (11-4) at Kempton 2m NH flat (4) std in Jan '13.
Future Security (IRE) 10-1 (8-7) Slowly into stride, mid-division, driven 3f out, never on terms, 6th of 9, 27l behind Gabrial's Star (9-5) at Chester 1m 4f app hcp (0-85) (4yo+) (4) sft in May (flat).
