led to 2nd, led again 3rd to 12th, led again 2 out, clear flat, eased towards finish
prominent, mistake 5th, blundered 12th, soon weakened
held up, mistake 4th and 10th, soon tailed off
Once again, not too many runners but they all take winning and we'll side with Baloo. The selection is a three-time hurdling winner and he ran with promise when second on his chasing debut at Stratford. He jumped a little carefully there but that's not such a bad thing for a beginner, and he should improve with that run under his belt. Fox In The Box hails from a stable that is well-known for its chasers, so this six-year-old is sure to have been well schooled. He won a two-and-a-half mile novice hurdle at Chepstow on soft ground last December, but was lightly raced subsequently. He has not raced on going this lively and lacks a recent outing, which leads us to prefer Baloo today. Silver Samuel and Mystic Native are both winning point-to-pointers so it might pay to watch the betting but, overall, we'll side with Baloo.
