tracked leaders, slightly slow 4th, soon last, slightly slow 6th, 4th 4 out, chased leaders in 3rd from 3 out, pushed along before straight, soon no impression, kept on same pace
prominent, soon 3rd, 4th from 5th, last from 4 out, no extra straight
soon led, joined 4th, soon headed, mistake 7th, not fluent 4 out, soon lost place and no impression, one pace
held up, 4th before 5th, soon 3rd, pecked 7th, pushed along to chase winner from 4 out, no impression and kept on same pace from 2 out
tracked leaders, a little keen, soon 2nd, on terms 4th, soon led, jumped well, pushed along to assert from 2 out, stayed on well run-in, easily
SIZING JOHN, who landed an incident-packed Grade 1 novice hurdle at Leopardstown last December, had been beaten by Douvan on his previous start and again saw the back of Willie Mullins' star in championship races at Cheltenham and back at Leopardstown. He's always been regarded as a better chasing prospect and there will be some long faces if he's beaten on his debut over fences. Killer Crow won two bumpers and a maiden hurdle but disappointed in his later starts as did Mr Diablo, who has a similar profile. Island Villa made a reasonable start over fences at Tramore but ran poorly on his next start at Perth and has since been beaten in a selling hurdle and though Balnagon Boy looks to have potential he hasn't been seen for almost two years.
Balnagon Boy (IRE) 16-1 (11-10) Close up, gained narrow lead after 3 out, headed and 3rd before last, soon no impression, 4th of 16, 3 3/4l behind Hop In (10-8) at Navan 2m hcp Yielding in Dec.
Island Villa (IRE) 11-8fav (11-2) Tracked leaders, led after 2nd, ridden and headed when not fluent last, every chance flat, held close home, 2nd of 7, 1 1/4l behind Milan Of Crystal (10-5) at Stratford 2m (5) gd in Oct.
Killer Crow (IRE) 33-1 (11-7) Mid-division on outer, no impression from 3 out, eased straight, 19th of 25, dist behind Avant Tout (11-8) at Punchestown 3m hcp Yielding in Apr.
Mr Diablo (IRE) 11-1 (11-6) Tracked leaders, 3rd halfway, pushed along approaching 2 out and soon dropped to 8th, no extra before last, 11th of 13, 25 3/4l behind Vive La France (10-10) at Galway 2m hcp Yielding in Jul.
Sizing John 5-1fav (11-12) Raced in 2nd, challenged and slight mistake 2 out, led approaching straight, soon pushed along, headed approaching last, one pace, 2nd of 6, 7 1/2l behind Douvan (11-12) at Punchestown 2m (1) Good - Yielding in Apr.
