held up towards rear, headway to chase leaders 14th, ridden & effort 3 out, one-paced next, eased towards finish
made virtually all, clear approaching last, stayed on well
held up in touch, weakened quickly 11th, pulled up before next, lame
held up towards rear, headway halfway, headway & effort approaching 2 out, stayed on to chase winner approaching last, no chance with winner
tracked leader, led briefly 10th, ridden 3 out, soon one-paced
held up towards rear, headway 9th, reminders 13th, mistake 15th, soon beaten
towards rear, struggling 10th, never dangerous
tracked leaders, ridden 4 out, soon weakened
tracked leaders, lost place 8th, ridden 12th, no impression
midfield, dropped rear 12th, tailed off when pulled up bef 14th
Moderate but tricky fare on display for punters in the Novice Chase. Hat-trick seeking Reflective Way is likely to be a popular order. He won a better contest at Perth last time out but his backers will be taking a chance on the going. Free to Run finished behind him on a previous meeting but that was off level weights. The handicapper looks to have given the ex-Irish horse some respite and he finished second off this mark at Worcester over 2m4f. Inis Eile is the second representative from the Smith yard. Although on breeding, the horse would probably need it softer, he could potentially be well handicapped. The field is headed by Lucky Time from the Murphy yard. He was dropped into selling grade last time but looks to have lost his way a little since stepping up in trip. Silent Snipe is in good heart at present and took a moderate contest at Hexham on a similar surface.
