It will be a massive disappointment if ROLL ALONG can't take this prize as he's well worth his mark of a hundred and fifty seven which gives him 12lbs in hand of Faasel and in excess of two stone from the other pair. The talented Carroll House gelding has been well handled by his trainer and retained his remarkable record of winning on his seasonal reappearance with a defeat of Air Force One at Ascot. Official ratings suggested that he was the best horse in the race at Sandown but he ran a little below par to finish third behind Barber's Shop and Abbeybraney. He didn't travel as well as he can that day but has been found a decent opening to get back on track. Faasel was given a superb ride by Davy Condon to win at Carlisle before running one of his poorer races at Ascot. He can be forgiven that run, has run well here over hurdles and is capable of exposing any chinks if the selection is below par. Rodrigo Gonzales proved his previous runs over fences to be all wrong when nearly stealing the headlines from Pressgang at Cheltenham but is biting off more than he can chew. It's hard to know what to make of Belon Gale's win at Sedgefield as his only serious rival was an early casualty and he, too, looks up against it on the balance of his earlier form. This race should throw up plenty of talking points and may see Roll Along cement his Cheltenham credentials.
Faasel (IRE) 16-1 (11-3) Mid-division, mistake 10th and dropped rear, lost touch from 15th, 9th of 14, 39l behind Niche Market (9-9) at Ascot 3m lst hcp chs (1) gs in Dec.
Roll Along (IRE) 2-1 (11-5) Chased leaders, not fluent 6th, mistake and lost place 12th, outpaced 16th, rallied from 3 out, stayed on same pace flat, 3rd of 5, 4 1/2l behind Barbers Shop (11-5) at Sandown 3m lst chs (1) gs in Dec.
Belon Gale (IRE) 6-4 (11-0) Chased leaders, left 2nd at 4th, left in lead 6th, clear from 14th, won at Sedgefield 3m 3f mdn chs (4) sft in Dec beating Ajay (11-0) by a distance, 7 ran.
Rodrigo Gonzales (IRE) 12-1 (11-12) Chased leaders, led 9th to 12th, stayed prominent, left with every chance when winner jumped violently left last 3, held run-in, 2nd of 9, 1l behind Pressgang (11-12) at Kempton 2m 4f nov hcp chs 0-130 (3) gd in Dec.
