prominent, led 3rd, ridden and headed 4 out, weakened next
raced wide close up, dropped to rear 5th, short lived effort 3 out
prominent on inner, led 4 out, ridden and ran on, eased towards finish
in touch, ridden and outpaced 3 out, rallied flat
in touch, wide and headway soon after 4 out, ridden to chase winner 2 out, no impression from next
raced wide prominent, tracked winner 4 out, until ridden approaching 2 out, soon weakened
led, headed 3rd, tracked leaders, ridden and weakened quickly 3 out
keen in rear, headway on inner soon after 4 out to tracked leaders, ridden when hit 2 out, faded flat
Cobolobo is upped 6lb for winning at Uttoxter and Never Equalled is 4lb higher than when scoring over 2m4f here in March. Jennys Day finished well ahead of Rafafie when runner-up at Wincanton recently while Sykes has won off today’s mark over fences and should be sharper for last month’s comeback run at Worcester. But ON THE ROAD was progressive over hurdles last year before notching-up a hat-trick of chase wins earlier this year. He returns to the smaller obstacles on his reappearance and Evan Williams’ charge gets the nod.
Cobolobo (FR) 7-1 (11-13) Held up towards rear, headway approaching 3 out, switched right before 2 out, switched left before challenging last, soon led, stayed on, won at Uttoxeter 2m 7f hcp (4) gd in Nov beating Dartford Warbler (10-7) by nk, 8 ran.
Never Equalled (IRE) 4-1 (11-10) Made all, not fluent last, hard ridden when pressed closing stages, all out, won at Ffos Las 2m 4f hcp (3) sft in Mar beating Verygoodverygood (11-10) by 1/2l, 9 ran.
Sykes (IRE) 25-1 (11-12) Towards rear, headway before 2 out, every chance last, kept on same pace, 4th of 7, 2 1/4l behind Scoop The Pot (11-12) at Worcester 2m 7f hcp (3) gd in Oct.
Driftwood Haze 14-1 (11-7) Held up towards rear, headway 5th, lost place before not fluent 3 out, went modest 3rd briefly before last, 4th of 9, 17 1/2l behind Prime Venture (11-12) at Ffos Las 3m hcp (3) sft in Nov.
On The Road (IRE) 7-2 (11-3) Held up towards rear and in touch, went 2nd from 3 out, led before last, kept on well, won at Sedgefield 2m 5f hcp (2) sft in Mar beating Wolf Sword (10-11) by 3 1/2l, 5 ran.
Midnight Silver 33-1 (10-0) Tracked leaders on outside, led before 2 out, headed approaching last, stayed on same pace, lost 4th close home, 5th of 12, 13 1/4l behind Midnight Tour (11-0) at Cheltenham 2m 4f hcp lst (1) gd in Apr.
Jennys Day (IRE) 40-1 (11-12) Always prominent, led before 5 out, strongly challenged after 3 out, headed before last, soon rallied, no extra closing stages, 2nd of 17, 2l behind Steely Addition (11-13) at Wincanton 2m 5f hcp (4) gd in Oct.
Rafafie 25-1 (10-7) In rear, headway before 3 out, ridden before 2 out, kept on same pace, 5th of 11, 12 3/4l behind Steely Addition (11-10) at Chepstow 3m hcp (3) sft in Nov.