led, pecked 2nd, hung left on bend approaching 8th, ridden and headed after 3 out, left 2nd 2 out, stayed on
tracked leader 1st to 4th, went 2nd 3 out, every chance when fell
tracked leaders, went 2nd 4th, blundered and lost place 3 out, rallied to lead approaching 2 out, clear last, ridden out
held up, headway after 3 out, ridden approaching 2 out, soon weakened
with leader when pecked and unseated rider
Headliner gets the vote in this novices' chase with Meggies Beau and Willie The Fish put forward as the main dangers. The selection has had a few problems with his jumping but it looked as though some intensive schooling had done the trick when he won well at Exeter when beating Brave Spirit. He will have conditions to suit here and he looks to be improving and as long as there are no mishaps with his jumping then he should take the world of beating. Meggies Beau disappointed last time but his previous winning effort over this course and distance would give him a leading chance and it would be no surprise to see him run a big race. Willie The Fish ran a stinker last time but he had previously won well when beating Ravenscar at Sedgefield. However, he has yet to prove he stays this far and on that basis we will take him on. This is a competitive event and none of the five runners can be ruled out, but we will stick with Headliner as our idea of the winner.
Headliner (IRE) 7-2 Held up, some headway 12th, mistake 4 out, ridden 3 out, chased leader 2 out, led approaching last, pushed out flat, won at Exeter 3m 1f hcp chs 0-125 (D) gs in Feb beating Brave Spirit by 3l, 7 ran.
Meggie's Beau (IRE) 6-1 Mid-divsion, pushed along 16th, weakened next, 7th of 9, 28l behind Home James at Huntingdon 3m nov hcp chs 0-125 (C) gs in Feb.
Willie The Fish (IRE) 4-1 Held up, ridden after 9th, soon lost touch, tailed off when pulled up 4 out in race won by Schuh Shine at Southwell 2m 4f cnd hcp chs 0-105 (E) gd in Jan, 13 ran.
