held up, in rear, mistake 7th, headway approaching last, went 2nd flat, stayed on, always just held
held up, in mid-division, in touch form 4th, not fluent 6th, ridden and hanging left after 3 out, hampered on bend after next, stayed on same pace flat
led, ridden after 2 out, headed last, edged right and stayed on same pace flat
tracked leaders, 2nd from 5th until before 3 out, challenged up inside and not much room on bend after 2 out, no extra flat
held up, in mid-division, not fluent when in touch 4th, mistake 3 out and 2 out, edged right and bumped into rival on last bend, led last, edged right flat, stayed on well
tracked leader until 5th, 2nd again before 3 out until mistake 2 out, no extra before last
held up, in rear, ridden approaching 3 out, soon beaten
An easy win at Warwick will have done wonders for the confidence of WHOLESTONE. Always held in high regard, he still needs to brush up his jumping but clearly has an engine and is preferred to stablemate Ballymalin, who won at Perth on his hurdles bow but looks a chaser in the making and may have preferred easier going. Neither West Approach nor Young Dillon face easy tasks giving weight to the others as Three Ways ran well enough in a Grade 2 at Chepstow to merit consideration. No Duffer, however, has only been placed in six previous tries over hurdles and hasn't run over the smaller obstacles since 2013.
West Approach 13-8 (11-0) Made all, driven approaching 2 out, drew clear from last, ran on, readily, won at Newton Abbot 2m 1f (2) gd in May beating Ozzie The Oscar (11-10) by 3 3/4l, 5 ran.
Young Dillon (IRE) 6-1 (10-13) Raced wide, chased leaders, went 2nd before 7th, led 3 out, ridden between last 2, headed last, kept on same pace run-in, 2nd of 10, 2 1/2l behind The Romford Pele (11-12) at Newton Abbot 3m 2f hcp (2) gd in Oct.
Ballymalin (IRE) 2-1 (10-12) Chased leaders, not fluent 5th, 2nd before 8th, led 2 out, not fluent last, driven flat, stayed on well, won at Perth 3m (4) sft in Sep beating What A Moment (10-12) by 3l, 6 ran.
Three Ways 33-1 (11-4) Prominent, ridden approaching 4 out, stayed on same pace after 2 out, faded flat, 4th of 9, 10l behind El Bandit (11-4) at Chepstow 2m 3f (1) gd in Oct.
Wholestone (IRE) 8-11fav (11-0) Chased leading pair, awkward 5th, not fluent 8th, 2nd soon after 3 out, led going well next, came clear from last, easily, won at Warwick 2m 5f mdn (4) gd in Sep beating Bugsie Malone (11-0) by 10l, 7 ran.
No Duffer 2-1fav (11-8) Tracked leaders, soon with leader, led 6 out, headed and blundered last, hard ridden and rallied to regain lead run-in, won at Perth 3m hcp (3) gd in Apr beating Presented (10-5) by 1 3/4l, 8 ran.
Renewing 7-1 (11-2) Tracked leader, outpaced before 2 out, no impression after, plugged on flat, 4th of 8, 10l behind Beneficial Joe (11-2) at Worcester 2m 7f mdn (5) gd in Aug.
