tracked winner, hit 4th, ridden after 2 out and soon beaten, jumped left last
made all, clear after 2 out, easily
took keen hold, held up in rear but in touch, pushed along 3rd, outpaced next, went poor 3rd before last, one pace
tracked leaders on outer, hit 4th, ridden 2 out, soon weakened
tracked leaders in 4th and keen, went 3rd after 2 out, soon one pace and lost 3rd
This Juvenile Hurdle looks a two horse race between Al Dafa and MARSH WARBLER and despite there nothing to choose between them on flat form the latter gets the marginal call. Both leading protagonists have taken really well to life in this sphere but the pick, a former Mark Johnston inmate, showed great improvement from his promising first run to a runaway win and a similar effort would be good enough. Al Dafa also came on for his debut to win back-to-back races over timber but the form from those starts looks slightly inferior to that of the selection's. Newcomers to timber Hades and High Importance both have a bit to find on flat form but are watched for the future in mind.
Al Dafa (USA) 11-8fav (11-5) Prominent, wandered 4th, led 3 out, jumped left and bumped 2 out, rider soon having trouble with right iron, not fluent and headed last, driven ahead towards finish, won at Ludlow 2m juv hdl (4) gd in Oct beating Tom Wade (10-12) by 3/4l, 7 ran.
Marsh Warbler 85-40 (10-9) Made all, driven clear after 3 out, eased down close home, impressive, won at Bangor 2m 1f 3yo mdn hdl (4) sft beating Call To Arms (10-9) by 23l, 8 ran.
Hades (IRE) 4-1fav (9-1) Held up in touch, lost place over 2f out, 11th of 15, 16l behind White Dart (9-5) at Redcar 7f 3yo hcp 0-70 (5) gd in Oct (flat).
Penny Bazaar 50-1 (8-12) Always behind, 12th of 15, 31l behind Mainland (9-11) at Ripon 1m 2f mdn stks (5) gd in Aug (flat).
Quality Mover (USA) 12-1 (9-0) Slowly into stride, towards rear, some headway on far rail 2f out, never a factor, 6th of 10, 14l behind Catbells (8-10) at Brighton 1m 2f hcp 0-65 (6) gd in Oct (flat).
High Importance (USA) 7-2 (10-12) Towards rear for most, never a factor, 13th of 18, well behind Magical Memoir (10-7) at Listowel 2m juv hdl gd in Sep.