tracked leaders, blundered badly and unseated rider 3rd
led, headed approaching 4 out, soon weakened
tracked leader, led approaching 4 out, ridden 2 out, headed and no extra flat
held up, headway 6 out, went 2nd 4 out, ridden 2 out, led flat, ran on well
in touch, pushed along and outpaced after 5 out, rallied 2 out, one pace under pressure flat
towards rear, mistake 9th, tailed off from 6 out
In a race with its fair-share of dodgy prospects, the TEAMtalk vote goes to Dunster Castle. Philip Hobbs has a 30% strike rate in novice races this season and this seven-year-old can continue that form. He was progressive over hurdles last season, and put his poor chasing bow at Leicester last December behind him when finishing third over fences at Ludlow on his season bow last month. With Tony Dobbin in the plate, he should take all the beating. Henrietta Knight's newcomer, Over The Storm, looks an interesting prospect. She said earlier this season that he had won a point-to-point in Ireland in February, and that he'd go straight chasing, and that they thought a great deal of him. Cambrian Dawn was a consistent performer in both bumpers and hurdle races in the 1999/2000 season, and came back from a two-year absence to score over flights at Perth in April. However, the Jonjo O'Neill-trained eight-year-old fell on his chasing bow at Hereford recently and could need another race to get going. Joe Crump was a consistent hurdler two seasons ago, but only had two races last season (but finished a good third to Fionnula's Rainbow at Huntingdon last September.) He was beaten 28 lengths third on his return over fences at Huntingdon last month, but can improve to have each-way claims on this occasion. Conquer made an encouraging chasing debut at Hereford in September 2001, but hasn't run since. However, his stable and jockey are both in good form, which bodes well for his comeback. Newsmaker is relatively inexperienced and could struggle on his chasing debut. The Heather Dalton-trained six-year-old scored on his hurdling bow at Uttoxeter last December, and went on to be placed twice more. His trainer has a decent strike rate in novice races, but he's best watched this time around. A real danger in this race is Shining Tyne, who has had plenty of chase experience in the past two seasons without managing to get in front. He finished third to Barton in the Grade 2 'Dipper' Novices' Chase last season, but has been outclassed in his first two races of this campaign. He looks like he'll score sooner or later though.
