jumped well, tracked leading pair, led going well 10th, came clear from 2 out, easily
held up in last pair, headway to chase leaders 7th, slightly lost place next, chased leading pair after 10th, disputing 2nd from 2 out, no chance with easy winner
chased leaders in 4th, ridden one pace and well held after 4 out
took keen hold, held up in last pair, weakened 4 out
chased leader, led 3rd, headed 5th, chased leader until 10th, weakened 4 out
led, not fluent and headed 3rd, chased leader, led again 5th, headed 10th, challenged and blundered 3 out, well held and no chance with winner from next, held on for 2nd
A decent prize for the track and it's attracted some quality entries. Consigliere may prefer softer going but Woolcombe Folly won't be inconvenienced by conditions, though he returns from a lengthy break here and Paul Nicholls also runs Domtaline and the novice Jump City. The latter may be the pick of the trio as he's already been placed four times here over hurdles and fences and won easily at Exeter last month. HUNT BALL has won four times on good ground or faster and this looks his easiest task for a while. It's only a year since he was placed in a Grade 1 at Aintree and a repeat of that form would probably suffice here. Alasi did beat Domtaline at Kempton in February and her latest run was over hurdles but Falcon Island could only finish third at Newton Abbot last Saturday having led over the last and is likely to find a couple too good again.
Hunt Ball (IRE) 8-1 (11-12) Tracked leaders, ridden and outpaced after 3 out, no impression before next, left 4th last, 4th of 22, 20l behind Carrickboy (10-5) at Cheltenham 2m 5f hcp chs G3 (1) gs in Mar.
Woolcombe Folly (IRE) 22-1 (11-2) Chased clear winner, went left 3rd, lost 2nd and mistake 8th, weakened before 4 out, tailed off, 7th of 8, 36l behind Sanctuaire (11-2) at Sandown 2m chs G2 (1) sft in Apr '12.
Domtaline (FR) 11-4 (11-7) Tracked leader, slight peck 10th, pushed along before 3 out, outpaced to 3rd approaching last, last of 3, 4l behind Alasi (11-0) at Kempton 2m 4f grd chs (5yo+) (2) gs in Feb.
Alasi 33-1 (11-5) Held up towards rear, not much room after 4 out, headway into mid-division when hit 2 out, weakened before last, 13th of 19, 24l behind Quevega (11-5) at Cheltenham 2m 4f hdl G2 (1) sft in Mar.
Falcon Island 6-1 (10-9) Tracked winner, mistake 7th, driven to lead approaching 2 out, soon ridden, headed soon after last, kept on same pace, held when lost 2nd towards finish, 3rd of 5, 2 1/4l behind Eastlake (10-12) at Newton Abbot 2m hcp chs 0-150 (2) sft in Mar.
Jump City (FR) 6-5 (11-5) Jumped right, made all, shaken up and in command beween last 2, stayed on well, won at Exeter 2m 3f nov chs (3) sft in Mar beating Dare Me (10-12) by 10l, 6 ran.
Consigliere (FR) 5-1 (11-3) Pressed leader, led 2nd until 4th, mistake 5th, led approaching 3 out, mistake and hurdle and soon headed, weakened after 2 out, 8th of 14, 20l behind Kaylif Aramis (10-8) at Ffos Las 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) hvy in Feb.
