held up, headway to chase leading pair approaching 4 out, driven and beaten before 2 out, hit last
made all, blundered 5th, well in command before 2 out, unchallenged after
raced in 3rd, chased winner 9th, driven after 3 out, well held before next
chased winner to 9th, stayed prominent until weakened before 4 out
chased leaders, driven along from 10th, outpaced after next
Dear Villez needs to put his chasing debut behind him here but with that in mind he still looks much the best horse in the lineup; Blue Canyon and Adopted Hero can chase him home. Hopefully Liam Heard will have more glue on his pants than Christian Williams did last time out as the horse had jumped beautifully until slipping and unseating his jockey. He has obviously had problems in the past, but this lightly-raced five-year-old may be a horse to follow this season. Murghas needs a check in the betting but it could be a big ask to ask him to win after such a long absence, despite the fact that he was a decent hurdler in years gone by. Adopted Hero should appreciate the softer ground today but this race looks more competitive than recent outings, so a bigger danger could be the French raider Blue Canyon. He was highly rated over hurdles and being at home on the ground, if his jumping holds up then he should go well. An interesting Beginners' Chase, and preference is for Dear Villez.
Blue Canyon (FR) (10-6) 5th of 10, 20l behind Nidea Du Moulin (10-1) at Enghien 2m 1f chs gs in Nov.
Dear Villez (FR) 4-1 (11-1) Led until slipped and unseated rider 5 out in race won by Roll Along (11-1) at Plumpton 2m 4f nov chs (3) gs in Nov, 5 ran.
Mughas (IRE) 9-2jt-fav (11-12) Held up towards rear, weakened approaching 4 out and pulled up 3 out in race won by Westender (11-9) at Haydock 2m 7f hcp hdl (2) gd in May '06, 12 ran.
Carly Bay 14-1 (11-10) In rear, mistake 3rd, some headway approaching 3 out, never reached leaders, 6th of 11, 37l behind Cusp (10-9) at Plumpton 2m 5f mrs hcp hdl (4) hvy in Feb.
Jades Double 22-1 (10-3) Tracked leaders until fell at the 8th in race won by Roll Along (11-1) at Plumpton 2m 4f nov chs (3) gs in Nov, 5 ran.
Adopted Hero (IRE) 3-1 (11-2) Chased leaders, left 2nd 7th, ridden after 3 out, kept on same pace, 3rd of 8, 11l behind Papini (11-2) at Ascot 2m 3f beg chs (3) gf in Nov.
Kervriou (FR) 66-1 (10-12) Took keen hold in touch, ridden 5th, soon weakened, 13th of 17, 48l behind Zebra Crossing (10-12) at Kempton 2m nov hdl (4) gd in Nov.
