led until 3rd, struggling 9th, soon lost touch
held up, in touch, hit 10th, headway next, ridden to challenge 4 out, took narrow advantage last, driven out
prominent, led 3rd, ridden and headed when not fluent 4 out, weakened next
prominent, ridden approaching 4 out, soon weakened, hit 2 out
held up, pecked 1st, weakened after 11th, behind when mistake, and slipped on landing 4 out
tracked leaders, led 4 out, soon ridden and hard pressed, narrowly headed when blundered last, rider lost whip, kept on
Verasi needs to put his fall on his chasing debut behind him, however he looks worth siding with here ahead of Nougat De L'Isle and Self Respect. The selection was held when falling but he was in the process of running a decent race behind Hobbs Hill, who has since gone on to prove himself one of the most, if not the most, promising Novices' seen so far this season. He was the best of these over hurdles and if he can successfully translate that ability to fences with a clear round, he may prove hard to beat. Josear was well-held when unshipping the rider last time out, whilst Lead On is another who has shown promise but was beaten when making mistakes last time out behind Hobbs Hill at Newbury. Heynewboy needs a check in the betting, however a more eminent threat may be Self Respect who ran well behind Acambo last time and should have learnt from that experience. Nougat De L'Isle stays well and may pounce on any mistakes, however it is Verasi who gets the nod.
Heynewboy 100-1 (10-9) Towards rear, headway 8th, hampered after 3 out, soon ridden, weakened after 2 out, 6th of 14, 23l behind Cryptic (10-12) at Wincanton 2m 6f nov hdl (4) gs in Nov.
Josear 10-1 (10-11) Led, hit 2nd, ridden and headed when hampered and unseated rider 2 out in race won by Desert Quest (11-0) at Taunton 2m beg chs (4) gf in Nov, 6 ran.
Lead On (IRE) 7-1 (11-1) Chased leaders, mistake 8th, blundered and dropped rear 11th, some headway when blundered 2 out, one pace, 4th of 7, 22l behind Hobbs Hill (11-8) at Newbury 2m 4f nov chs Grd 2 (1) gs in Nov.
Nougat de L'Isle (FR) 8-1 (11-2) In touch, blundered badly 8th, mistake 12th, led 3 out, just over 2 lengths ahead when blundered badly 2 out, not recover, 3rd of 10, 17l behind Arnold Layne (11-2) at Uttoxeter 3m nov chs (4) gd in Nov.
Self Respect (USA) 7-2 (11-0) Tracked leader, chased winner 9th, mistake 4 out, blundered next, no chance after, 2nd of 4, 6l behind Acambo (11-0) at Ascot 2m 1f beg chs (3) gs in Nov.
Silverhay 10-1 (11-1) Mid-division, headway 5th, ridden and every chance 2 out, kept on same pace, 4th of 13, 6l behind Mickmacmagoole (10-9) at Taunton 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-120 (3) gf in Nov.
Verasi 7-2 (11-1) Chased leaders, chased winner 9th, driven after 3 out, staying on one pace when fell at the last in race won by Hobbs Hill (11-7) at Folkestone 2m 5f nov chs (3) gd in Nov, 6 ran.
