held up last, headway approaching 9th, chased winner after 4 out, kept on but never on term
fell 1st
held up in distance 3rd, soon well behind, no impression
with leader, led 5th to 9th, lost touch 13th, weakened approaching 4 out, pulled up approaching 3 out
led to 5th, reminder 7th, led 9th, shaken up 11th, clear after 13th, unchallenged
held up towards rear, soon well behind, no impression
Made In Montot and Rakalackey catch the eye here, with the vote going to the former, with Berengario looking best of the rest. Made In Montot hails from a good yard and, much as he didn't show much on his British debut, that came in a Grade 1 hurdle. However, in his native France he was able to beat the likes Marcel, a level of ability that, if replicated here, would make him hard to beat. That said, dual hurdle winner Rakalackey, who is a half-brother to Young Spartacus, rates a big danger and could be interesting over fences. Berengario is the only course winner in the line-up and his hurdling form stands up pretty well in the context of most of his opponents so he gets a reasonable mention, and he was hardly likely to trouble the likes of Nyrche last time on his chasing debut. It's a long time since Galaxy Sam showed any form, although his trainer is good at sweetening up horses, while, being by Classic Cliche out of a Le Bavard mare, Preacher Boy attracts some interest, but the betting will tell us more. Overall, though, we just side with Made In Montot, but the betting could be interesting.
Berengario (IRE) 50-1 (11-3) Chased winner, hit 2nd, ridden approaching 3 out, weakened, 3rd of 5, well behind Nyrche (11-9) at Wincanton 2m nov chs (C) gd in Nov.
Galaxy Sam (USA) 33-1 (10-9) Held up, headway approaching 5th, went prominent 6th, ridden and weakened quickly and pulled up 3 out in race won by Graceful Dancer (10-0) at Exeter 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-125 (D) hvy in Mar, 9 ran.
Kellys Fable 10-1 (10-5) Held up towards rear, ridden and lost place 4th, tailed off, 8th of 9, well behind Supreme Tadgh (10-10) at Taunton 2m 3f nov hcp chs 0-105 (E) gf in Nov.
Made In Montot (FR) 8-1 (11-7) Not fluent 1st, in touch, ridden and weakened approaching 2 out, 7th of 9, 48l behind Marcel (11-7) at Sandown 2m nov hdl Grd 1 (A) gs in Jan.
Preacher Boy 10-1 (11-0) 5th of 7, 27l behind Rimpton Boy (11-0) at Bratton Down 3m ptp gd in Jun.
Toy Boy (IRE) 25-1 (11-0) Chased leaders early, weakened 7th and pulled up 4 out in race won by Kadoun (11-0) at Bangor 2m 4f nov hdl (E) gs in Apr '04, 10 ran.
Rakalackey 10-1 (10-11) Held up in touch, ridden to chase winner after 2 out, strong challenge last, stayed on same pace run-in, 3rd of 19, 3l behind The Dark Lord (10-7) at Cheltenham 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-140 (B) gd in Oct '04.
