held up, ridden and chased leaders approaching 7th, soon weakened
in touch and raced keen early, hit 6th, led 4 out, drew clear from 2 out easily
led, headed 4 out, ridden and no extra
tracked leader, lost place 7th, soon beaten
tracked leader, lost place 5th, tailed off from next
Ferdy Murphy has placed Marshall Hall well on his last two starts and he has won with authority so cannot be opposed today as he goes for the hat-trick. The drop to this trip has paid dividends and he should be capable of progressing past this mark of 111. Jallastep looks the obvious danger although the suspicion is that he would prefer better ground, so of more interest may be OliverJohn who is well weighted to record a victory if fit enough after over a year off the track. Ground and trip are fine and with the stable in decent form at present, he looks the main threat. Shares is fairly consistent but his mark of 112 looks slightly beyond him, whilst Brave Thought completes the field but the old-timer has looked on the decline in recent runs. All in all this looks a straightforward task for Marshall Hall to complete the hat-trick.
Shares (IRE) 25-1 (11-9) Held up, pampered 9th, headway aproaching 3 out, one pace from 2 out, 5th of 14, 12l behind Marshall Hall (10-0) at Catterick 2m hcp chs 0-115 (4) hvy in Feb.
Marshall Hall (IRE) 4-6fav (11-8) Held up in touch, led approaching 3 out, very easily, won at Ayr 2m nov hcp chs 0-100 (4) sft beating Perfect Punch (10-10) by 3l, 11 ran.
Brave Thought (IRE) 16-1 (11-11) Held up, struggling 5 out, soon beaten, last of 7, well behind Sands Rising (10-13) at Carlisle 2m 4f hcp chs 0-115 (4) sft in Feb.
Oliverjohn (IRE) 6-1 (9-11) Led, headed approaching 3 out, ridden and soon outpaced, 3rd of 8, 15l behind Do L'enfant D'eau (10-2) at Ayr 2m hcp chs 0-135 (3) sft in Feb '06.
Jallastep (FR) 7-2 (11-0) Tracked leaders, pushed along 3 out, effort after next, left 2nd last, no chance with winner, 2nd of 7, 8l behind Kids Inheritance (11-6) at Kelso 2m 6f hcp chs 0-115 (4) gd in Oct.
