tracked leading pair to 4th, held up in touch, outpaced 4 out, weakened after last, tailed off
led 1st, ridden after last, headed flat, no extra inside final furlong
held up in touch, hit 3 out, chased leading pair after last, soon ridden, kept on flat, not reached leaders
held up in touch, tracked leading pair from 4th, went 2nd 2 out, challenged after last, driven to lead flat, stayed on final furlong
led to 1st, tracked leader, mistake 3rd, ridden and lost place 2 out, weakened after last, tailed off
XECUTIVE HALL has improved markedly over hurdles this year and is rated 8lb lower over fences. There seems no reason why he can't carry that progress back over fences and Ben Haslam's gelding gets the nod here. Soul Magic is pursuing a C&D hat-trick and is also on the up, but he's risen a further 5lb in the weights since edging out My Condor at the track last month and the runner-up will be fancied to reverse the form today. Quetzal is best watched after a break and Youandme is hard to fancy from 16lb out of the handicap proper.
Quetzal (IRE) 7-2 (11-9) Tracked leaders, in 3rd when slipped up on bend approaching 8th, in a race won by Thunder Child (10-1) at Taunton 2m 3f hcp chs 0-105 (4) gd in Mar, 4 ran.
My Condor (IRE) 7-2fav (11-10) Led, headed before 3 out, rallied approaching last, no extra towards finish, 2nd of 7, 1l behind New Rackheath (10-11) at Worcester 2m hcp chs 0-95 (5) gd.
Executive's Hall (IRE) 7-2 (10-4) Held up in rear, headway before 3 out, went 2nd before 2 out, kept on and no chance with winner after last, 2nd of 8, 10l behind King In Waiting (11-6) at Market Rasen 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gd in Jul.
Soul Magic (IRE) 4-1fav (10-6) Held up in mid-division, not fluent 1st, headway 7th, went 2nd after last, soon ridden, stayed on under pressure to lead post, won at Cartmel 2m 1f hcp chs 0-95 (5) gf in Jul beating My Condor (11-0) by shd, 10 ran.
Youandme (IRE) 12-1 (10-0) Tracked leader, driven to challenge approaching 4 out, weakened after next, 4th of 7, 34l behind New Rackheath (10-11) at Worcester 2m hcp chs 0-95 (5) gd.