held up in rear, headway 3 out, went 3rd from last, kept on and always held towards finish
held up towards rear, reminders before 8th, headway to chase leaders before 3 out, blundered 2 out, stayed on gamely to lead towards finish
chased leaders, led 4th, headed next, pushed along before 9th, weakened before 3 out
led, headed before 2nd, weakened from 8th, hampered 2 out, pulled up before last
chased leaders, led before 2nd, headed 4th, led again 9th, wandered under pressure run-in, soon headed, kept on and held near finish
held up towards rear, led 5th, headed 9th, outpaced 4 out, one pace before last
held up mid-division, headway before 2 out, one pace in 4th before last
held up mid-division, headway 7th, ridden and in 2nd when fell 2 out
Witch's Hat beat a good yardstick at Folkestone a week before Christmas but has been absent since while Domoly keeps finding one too good and is still 11lb higher than his last win. RED ROUBLE was well beaten in a three-runner race at Newbury last time but was a fair second at the same track over this trip earlier and deserves the selection if running up to that form. Theophrastus will surely need this while No No Bingo, Doctor Ric and Endofdiscusion all have to improve on recent form to figure.
Theophrastus (IRE) 13-2 (11-9) Mid-division on inside, outpaced 14th, stayed on under pressure to go 3rd towards finish, no chance with winner, 3rd of 12, 14l behind Drybrook Bedouin (11-1) at Exeter 3m 6f hcp chs 0-120 (3) gd in Apr '11.
No No Bingo (IRE) 33-1 (10-0) Mid-division, not fluent 1st, ridden 11th, effort next, weakened approaching 4 out where mistake, tailed off, 11th of 16, well behind Noble Legend (11-1) at Haydock 2m 6f hcp chs (2) gs in Mar.
Red Rouble (IRE) 7-2 (10-7) Tracked leaders who went clear before 3rd, mistake 9th, closed after 12th, went 2nd before 4 out, no chance with winner, 2nd of 3, 26l behind Bennys Mist (11-12) at Newbury 3m nov hcp chs 0-130 (3) hvy in Mar.
Doctor Ric (IRE) 4-1 (11-8) Led until mistake 6th, outpaced 12th, soon weakened, pulled up before 2 out, in a race won by Nudge And Nurdle (11-10) at Fontwell 3m 2f hcp chs 0-105 (4) gd in Sep, 8 ran.
Endofdiscusion (IRE) 9-4 (11-12) Tracked leader, jumped slowly and reminder 5th, challenged next, jumped slowly 8th, pushed along before 10th, ridden after mistake 12th, 3rd and no extra 2 out, weakened last, 3rd of 5, 22l behind Orang Outan (10-7) at Huntingdon 2m 4f hcp chs 0-100 (5) gs.
Witch's Hat (IRE) 11-4 (11-8) Jumped well, led, went left 4 out and next, pushed along approaching 2 out, left in 5 lengths lead at the last, no extra and caught close home, 2nd of 6, 3/4l behind Sulpius (12-0) at Folkestone 2m 5f nov hcp chs 0-95 (5) gd in Dec.
Domoly (FR) 13-2 (9-7) Chased leaders on outside, headway to join winner 7th, ridden and outpaced in 4th before 4 out, rallied 2 out, led narrowly after last, headed and no extra near finish, 2nd of 8, 3/4l behind Blazing Bull (10-1) at Wetherby 2m 4f hcp chs 0-115 (4) sft in Mar.
Irish Guard 12-1 (10-13) Led until after 1st, prominent, not fluent 10th, not much room 13th or 3 out, 3rd and beaten 2 out, blundered last, weakened flat, 5th of 7, 21l behind Keeverfield (11-5) at Towcester 3m hcp chs 0-100 (5) sft in Mar.
