held up in rear, pushed along before 4th, lost touch 3 out, tailed off
chased leading dup until weakened before 2 out, soon tailed off and eased
chased leading trio until slow and lost place 3rd, not fluent apoor 5th when mistake 2 out, tailed off
slight lead, ridden and headed on long run before last, rallied as winner hung left flat, always held
held up in last pair, headway to 4th before 2 out, 3rd soon after, driven and no chance with leading duo on long run to last
pressed leader, hit 2 out, led on long run before last, blundered last, hung left flat, always just doing enough
held up in 5th, headway and close up 3rd, not fluent 5th, blundered and weakened next, tailed off
Mr Muddle sets the standard here on his runs behind Comedy Act and Gibb River at Plumpton, though he finished tailed off on the all-weather at Lingfield only four days ago. Knockdolian can be expected to improve on his debut in a decent race at Newbury and is a rare runner over hurdles for Roger Charlton. Lady Willa has been placed in three of her four starts over timber but we'll take a chance on MEGLIO ANCORA. Jonathan Portman's gelding became a little disappointing on the Flat and was well beaten on his latest start over timber but this represents a significant drop in grade and he's expected to appreciate the testing nature of this circuit.
Don Stefano 28-1 (9-0) Soon behind, last of 11, 41l behind Tanto Quanto (9-3) at Southwell 1m 2yo mdn stks (5) fbs in Aug '09 (flat).
Knockdolian (IRE) 18-1 (10-12) Held up in 5th, slow and lost place 2nd, modest 6th when badly hampered 3 out, well beaten when went right last, tailed off, 7th of 8, 50l behind Grandouet (11-8) at Newbury 2m 3yo hdl (3) gs in Dec.
Meglio Ancora 20-1 (10-12) Behind, some headway when hit 4th, hit next, soon lost touch, tailed off when hit 2 out, 7th of 9, well behind Smad Place (10-12) at Newbury 2m 3yo hdl (3) gs in Nov.
Mr Muddle 7-2 (10-7) Led until 4 out, rallied and every chance next, soon outpaced by winner, kept on same pace, 2nd of 14, 7l behind Gibb River (11-12) at Plumpton 2m nh nov hdl (4) gs.
Goodison Park 40-1 (9-12) Mid-division, ridden 5th, weakened 3 out, 9th of 16, 25l behind Tony Star (10-12) at Huntingdon 2m 4yo nov hdl (4) gs.
Lady Willa (IRE) 10-1 (10-2) Not fluent, with leaders when went right and squeezed rival 2nd, lost place when hit 3rd, headway to chase leadig trio under pressure after 3 out, went modest 3rd between last 2, 3rd of 8, 6l behind Switched Off (11-8) at Wincanton 2m cond nov hcp hdl 0-100 (4) gd in Nov.
Polo Springs 20-1 (8-2) Slowly away and always in rear, 11th of 13, 12l behind Miss Whippy (8-7) at Windsor 1m 2yo sll (6) gf in Aug '09 (flat).
