chased leaders, hit 1st, tracking leaders in 3rd when fell 3 out
held up, reminders 4th, soon weakened
close up, led 2nd, headed 6th, lost place from 7th
chased leaders, led 8th, clear approaching last when not fluent
led to 2nd, led 6th, headed 8th, one pace 2 out
held up, reminders after 4th, pushed along after 6th, weakened from 8th
held up in rear, headway approaching 9th, went 2nd 2 out, one pace from last
held up in touch, ridden and weakened 2 out
held up, pushed along after 6th, weakened approaching 8th
Dansimar ran better at Kempton last month than he had on his reappearance and he has claims but a better bet may be MINELLA BOYS, who gets the vote over Magnifico. David Evans has his team in super form at present and Magnifico is no exception having won two of his last three starts and finishing second on the other occasion last time out but he has gone up another 6lbs since that run. Any further softening of the ground will help Sphinx, who has only had four starts over hurdles but has had plenty of experience on the flat. Victory Parade seemed to handle the testing ground well enough at Chepstow last time and he makes more appeal than Alison Thorpe's Olmeto Collonges, who is capable but is becoming expensive to follow after just one win from 22 starts over both hurdles and fences. The vote then goes to Minella Boys, who makes his debut for Charlie Longsdon having shown a decent level of form over hurdles for Tim Vaughan prior to falling when going well over fences at Wetherby on his reappearance last month. Back over timber today, Minella Boys looks worth siding with on suitably testing ground.
Dansimar 8-1 (10-12) Tracked leader, effort 3 out, soon under pressure, weakened next, 4th of 5, 13l behind Whiteoak (10-12) at Kempton 3m mrs lst hdl (1) gs in Nov.
Trigger The Light 25-1 (11-3) Mid-division, ridden 3 out, no real headway, well beaten 2 out, 7th of 18, 32l behind Lie Forrit (11-8) at Newbury 3m hcp hdl 0-140 (2) gs in Nov.
Magnifico (FR) 4-1fav (11-0) Pressed leader, led approaching 2nd, made most after that until headed approaching 2 out, rallied flat, stayed on well towards finish, just failed, 2nd of 9, nk behind My Friend Sandy (11-3) at Chepstow 3m hcp hdl 0-130 (3) hvy in Nov.
Minella Boys (IRE) 11-10fav (11-2) Disputed lead until led after 5 out, about 4 lengths up when fell 4 out, in a race won by Passport Control (11-2) at Wetherby 3m 1f beg chs (4) sft in Nov, 3 ran.
Victory Parade (IRE) 5-1 (11-5) Pressed leader, not fluent 6th, given reminders, led after next, headed 4 out, well beaten 3 out, stayed on flat, 4th of 11, 21l behind Silver Kate (10-12) at Chepstow 2m 4f nov hdl (4) hvy.
Two Miles West (IRE) 40-1 (10-11) Held up, always in rear, tailed off, 10th of 15, well behind Cross Kennon (11-7) at Chepstow 3m hcp hdl 0-125 (3) hvy.
Sphinx (FR) 5-2fav (10-8) Held up, ridden and headway approaching 2 out, soon outpaced, 4th and no impression when hit last, stayed on to go 3rd flat, 3rd of 7, 12l behind Overstrand (10-0) at Market Rasen 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-135 (3) sft in Nov.
Olmeto Collonges (FR) 10-1 (11-5) Held up mid-division, left in lead 4 out, ridden and headed approaching 2 out, no extra from last, 3rd of 12, 7l behind Tarateeno (10-10) at Towcester 3m hcp hdl 0-115 (4) hvy in Nov.
Cannon Fire (FR) 5-2 (10-13) Prominent, hit 9th, pushed along after 11th, weakened 2 out, 3rd of 5, 21l behind Wizards Dust (10-5) at Ludlow 3m hcp chs 0-115 (4) sft in Nov.
