held up, headway 9th, led 3 out, all out
with leader, led 5th to 7th, weakened 9th, tailed off and pulled up before last
held up and keen, headway 3rd, led approaching 8th, headed 3 out, soon ridden, ran on towards finish
led to 5th, led again 7th, soon headed, ridden after 8th, soon weakened
Just five go to post for this but it looks tricky, with none being ruled out. A tentative vote goes to Pure Fun with the Philip Hobbs yard in fine form, and he can make the most of the weight he receives from Il Capitano. Pure Fun loves fast ground and was a winner under such conditions here last October. He bounced back to form at Wincanton just over three weeks ago and is obviously on good terms with himself. Il Capitano has been in top form over fences but is not badly treated over the smaller obstacles despite topweight and should also go well. High Drama and Quedex were both winners last time, while Long Shot will like the trip. All in all, this is the hardest race to solve on the card, but as we said earlier Pure Fun is the selection.
