in touch, outpaced 5 out, rallied approaching 3 out, one pace next
tracked leader, led 3 out, ran on strongly
tracked leaders, hit 3rd, dropped rear 8th, never dangerous after
led, headed 3out, soon one pace
towards rear, never dangerous
towards rear, headway 8th to chase leaders, soon ridden, kept on same pace
A tricky little contest in which most have some sort of chance but Politeo needs to bounce back from a modest effort at Ascot nine days ago when well adrift of third Moon Over Miami. This is the latter's level nowadays and he makes more appeal than Betabob, well beaten at Chepstow earlier this month. Johnny Mullen is starting to look well handicapped, however, and hinted at a revival at Hereford but SUPER FORMEN, who appears to have the beating of Falcon Island on a line through Tuesday's Taunton runner-up Doeslessthanme, looks the one to beat.
Moon Over Miami (GER) 25-1 (11-5) Mid-division, headway 10th, chased leaders 2 out, soon one pace, 3rd of 10, 6l behind King Edmund (11-7) at Ascot 2m 1f hcp chs 0-140 (3) sft.
Falcon Island 9-4 (10-11) Led, jumped left and not fluent 4th, headed after next, led again 7th, headed 2 out, 3rd and no extra when not fluent last, 3rd of 5, 13l behind Oldrik (10-12) at Taunton 2m Novice Limited Handicap Chase (0-135) (4yo+) (3) gs.
Politeo (FR) 6-1 (11-3) Behind, weakened 4 out, 6th of 10, 19l behind King Edmund (11-7) at Ascot 2m 1f hcp chs 0-140 (3) sft.
Super Formen (FR) 5-2 (10-11) With leader, led 8th, hard driven next, stayed on well, won at Taunton 2m hcp chs 0-135 (3) gd beating Doeslessthanme (11-12) by 3l, 6 ran.
Betabob (IRE) 16-1 (10-12) Held up in rear, headway 4 out, soon no impression, 6th of 15, well behind Oscar Gogo (10-9) at Chepstow 2m 3f hcp chs 0-130 (3) hvy.
Johnny Mullen (IRE) 12-1 (11-6) Held up towards rear, headway before 4 out, went 3rd 3 out, never on terms with leading duo, 3rd of 9, 14l behind Nosecond Chance (11-2) at Hereford 2m hcp chs 0-115 (4) gs in Nov.