held up in 4th, left 3rd 6th, ridden after next, weakened approaching 3 out, pulled up before last
held up in 5th, went 3rd approaching 3 out, no impression on winner when pressing for 2nd after 2 out until after last
held up, always in rear, behind from 4th
made all, clear from 4 out, unchallenged
tracked leaders until mistake 6th, weakened 2 out
tracked winner, outpaced from 4 out, no impression 2 out, won battle for 2nd after last
ONE OF THE BOYS deserves to get his head in front and can do so here at the expense of last-time-out winners Folie A Deux and Turbo Shandy. Tim Vaughan's charge has put together a worrying run of seconds but closer inspection shows he's been a tad unfortunate, first in twice running into the well-handicapped Yellow Flag and then coming up against Misamon. The last-named won tidily at Worcester on Wednesday making the form look strong and our pick gets in off the same mark here, so his chance is an obvious one. Folie A Deux won a course and distance affair last time and can't be ruled out up 6lbs. He jumped and travelled supremely well that day but any rain would be a concern. Turbo Shandy won't mind which way the ground goes but he's incurred a 13lb rise for winning at Market Rasen and that may be enough to halt the winning run. High Skies is basically a plater and needs to improve to give weight away to these while Quincy Des Pictons may need this first outing in 128 days. My Pal Val is another with claims but he's up 2lbs after finishing second last time and that may find him out while Red Jester may need further, so in a race full of in-form types One Of The Boys gets the vote.
High Skies 5-1 (11-3) Held up mid-division, headway to chase leaders 3rd, weakened from 3 out, 9th of 10, 31l behind Space Telescope (11-9) at Worcester 2m hcp hdl 0-110 (4) gf.
Turbo Shandy 11-2 (11-0) Held up mid-division, headway after 4 out, led 3 out, clear from 2 out, easily, won at Market Rasen 2m 2f hcp chs 0-105 (4) gf beating Nesnaas (11-4) by 11l, 10 ran.
Quincy Des Pictons (FR) 3-1fav (11-5) Held up in rear, mistake 10th, headway under pressure 2 out, kept on same pace, 3rd of 7, 9l behind Canada Street (11-12) at Sedgefield 2m 4f hcp ch 0-110 (4) gd in Mar.
Folie A Deux (IRE) 3-1fav (10-6) Led until 2nd, led before 4th, not fluent 6th, in command last, driven and ran on flat, won at Uttoxeter 2m hcp chs 0-110 (4) gf beating Kirkhammerton (10-13) by 3l, 9 ran.
My Pal Val (IRE) 11-4 (11-12) Held up, headway approaching 4 out, edged left approaching last, stayed on flat, 2nd of 7, 1 1/4l behind Barton Sun (9-11) at Stratford 2m 1f hcp chs 0-95 (5) gf.
Red Jester 8-1 (10-7) Mid-division, headway after 9th, chased winner 2 out until last, held towards finish, 3rd of 10, 1 1/4l behind Mad Jack Duncan (10-3) at Uttoxeter 2m 5f hcp chs 0-115 (4) gd.
One of The Boys (IRE) 6-4fav (11-7) Held up towards rear, steady headway approaching 7th, driven along in 5th after 4 out, effort after next, chased winner from 2 out, not fluent last, one pace flat, 2nd of 7, 1 1/4l behind Misamon (10-11) at Southwell 2m hcp 0-100 (4) gf.
