tracked leaders, went 2nd from 4th, ridden approaching 2 out, no impression before last
took keen hold, tracked winner, not fluent 2nd, slithered on landing and dropped to last from 4th, losing touch from 7th, tailed off
made all, ridden clear when not fluent last, unchallenged
DARK LOVER faced a tough task up against Balder Succes in a Grade Two event at Kempton last time. But Jamie Snowden's charge won nicely at Cheltenham on his chasing bow in October and has plenty in hand on both of today's rivals. Placed over fences, Woodbank was still in contention when falling at Doncaster last time and should have the measure of Next Exit barring any accidents.
Dark Lover (GER) 10-1 (11-7) Held up in close 5th, bumped on bend after 7th, pushed along and outpaced before 3 out, no chance after, went modest 4th towards finish, 4th of 6, 20l behind Balder Succes (11-7) at Kempton 2m 4f nov chs G2 (1) sft in Feb.
Next Exit (IRE) 100-1 (10-5) Mid-division, driven and weakened before 2 out, 10th of 11, well behind Vulcanite (11-11) at Stratford 2m hcp hdl 0-135 (3) gs in Mar.
Woodbank 7-2 (11-0) Tracked leader, led before 3 out, fell 3 out, in a race won by Karinga Dancer (11-0) at Doncaster 2m 3f nov chs (4) gd in Dec, 4 ran.
