led, not fluent 11th or 13th, about 3/4 length ahead when went through the top of the last, knuckled and headed, not recover
2nd when not fluent 1st, in touch in rear, not fluent 8th, headway before 12th, reminder after next, outpaced 4 out, weakening when mistake next
tracked leaders on inside, took keen hold, not fluent 3 out, driven and one pace in 4th from next
held up in touch on outside, ridden after 4 out, weakened next
took keen hold, held up in touch in rear, headway 4 out, close 3rd next, left challenging last, stayed on, just held
not fluent 1st, 2nd from next, not fluent 3rd, about 3/4 length down when left in lead last, hard, pressed, held on
It took Fort Worth 10 attempts to get off the mark over fences so it’s hard to imagine that the Doncaster winner will have much scope for further improvement. Sir Ivan hasn’t taken to the larger obstacles while Huff And Puff flopped at Leicester after finishing second at Wetherby. Father Edward isn’t easy to catch right and still looks too high in the weights while Earthmoves hasn’t had much racing in the last two years. PULL THE CHORD made late headway when second over 2m4f at Ludlow in a similar race to this. He’s only a pound higher here and should go close if staying the extra half-mile.
Sir Ivan 7-1 (11-11) Prominent, led after 3rd, headed 7th, soon led again, headed 9th, lost place 13th, soon weakened, well beaten 4th when blundered 2 out, 4th of 7, 25 1/4l behind Abracadabra Sivola (10-12) at Taunton 2m 7f hcp (3) sft in Feb.
Father Edward (IRE) 8-1 (11-10) Tracked leader, weakened from 4 out, 4th of 5, dist behind Zarib (11-0) at Leicester 2m 4f (3) gf in Dec.
Pull The Chord (IRE) 6-1 (11-8) Held up behind, headway after 5 out, chased front pair before next, switched inside and ridden before 2 out, went 2nd between last 2, kept on, no chance with winner, 2nd of 13, 9l behind Pougne Bobbi (11-5) at Ludlow 2m 4f hcp (3) sft in Feb.
Earthmoves (FR) 6-1 (11-2) Never fluent, tracked leaders on outside, mistake and lost place briefly 10th, jumped slowly and behind 11th, tailed off when blundered 4 out, pulled up before next, at Taunton 2m 7f hcp (3) gd in Nov.
Fort Worth (IRE) 11-4jfav (12-2) Held up mid-division, headway 6 out, went 3rd before 5 out, going well from 4 out, led last, kept on, won at Doncaster 3m hcp (4) gd in Jan beating Behind The Wire (11-11) by 1/2l, 7 ran.
Huff And Puff 9-2 (11-11) Towards rear, headway 7th, nudged along 11th, 5th and no impression 4 out, weakened, 5th of 8, 33 1/2l behind Ballinvarrig (11-7) at Leicester 2m 4f hcp (4) gs in Feb.
