led, jumped mainly right, headed 6th, lost place 5 out, ridden before 3 out, never dangerous
in rear, mistake 4th, headway before 6 out to take 2nd place, challenged next, ridden before 2 out, one pace
held up in touch, blundered 7 in rear, reminders before 11th, weakened 6 out, pulled up 3 out
tracked leader, jumped right 3rd, led 6th, headed 7th, tracked leaders, outpaced 6 out, went remote 3rd 4 out, no impression on leading pair
in rear, soon tracked leaders, led 7th, ridden and clear before last, stayed on strongly
Attaglance was much-improved over hurdles last season but his chase debut at Carlisle ended up a damp squib as he was pulled up having never travelled well. The heavy ground may well have been to blame and he could a different proposition now however. Molotof looks the pick of the three previous chase winners having won easily over 2m at Taunton. Runner-up Changing Times has won twice since but this will be his first try over 3m and Cloudy Too and So Fine are both proven stayers, as is ROCKY CREEK. His second to Harry Topper at Exeter now looks very decent novice form and the fact that he gets 7lb from all but one of his rivals could swing things his way this afternoon.
Cloudy Too (IRE) 5-1 (10-9) Held up in touch, went 3rd before 4 out, led last, kept on, driven out, won at Carlisle 2m 4f beg chs (3) hvy in Nov beating Vintage Star (11-2) by 2 1/4l, 8 ran.
Molotof (FR) Evensfav (11-2) Jumped moderately, tracked leading pair, left 2nd at 6th, led soon after 4 out, blundered and headed 3 out, blundered next, rallied under strong pressure to lead again final 100 yards, won at Taunton 2m nov chs (4) gd in Oct beating Changing Times (11-2) by 1 1/4l, 11 ran.
So Fine (IRE) 13-2 (11-2) Held up towards rear, in 5th and outpaced before 3 out, ridden and stayed on to chase leader before last, led towards finish, won at Kempton 3m beg chs (4) sft in Nov beating Spirit River (11-2) by 2 1/2l, 7 ran.
Attaglance 9-4fav (11-4) Mid-division, pushed along 10th, weakened 5 out, behind when pulled up 2 out, in a race won by Rival D'estruval (11-4) at Carlisle 2m 4f nov chs (4) hvy in Oct, 7 ran.
Rocky Creek (IRE) Evensfav (11-4) Tracked leaders, driven and outpaced by leading pair before 4 out, rallied next, led 2 out, ridden last, headed flat, no extra, 2nd of 10, 1 1/4l behind Harry Topper (11-4) at Exeter 3m beg chs (4) gs in Oct.