prominent, headway 8th, challenged 3 out, led briefly before 2 out, ran on but not pace of winner
chased leader, ridden and lost touch 7th, fell 8th
held up in mid-division, ridden and headway after 3 out, switched right and led before 2 out, hard ridden and drifted left flat, ran on well
held up towards rear, weakened and mistake 3 out, tailed off
held up in mid-division, ridden before 3 out, soon behind
held up in touch, ridden after 3 out, outpaced approaching 2 out, stayed on from last
dwelt start, mid-division, headway approaching 7th, ridden 3 out, stayed on same pace from 2 out
held up last, mistake 2nd, not fluent 6th, lost touch 7th, tailed off when pulled up before 2 out
mid-division, ridden after 3 out, not quicken
chased leader, ridden after 3 out, weakened before 2 out
led, quickened 7th, ridden and headed before 2 out, soon weakened
In the novices' hurdle, Jollyolly just gets the call over Accipiter. The best of these on official ratings, the Peter Bowen-trained selection has won his last three races, the latest being a valuable handicap at Cheltenham. He is fully entitled to be competitive in this race, particularly given his favoured good going, so expect a bold show. Accipiter also holds a Royal & SunAlliance Novices' Hurdle entry, has kept on improving this season and, even with his penalties, is likely to give the selection the most to do. Best of the rest look to be Alan King's likeable and progressive Special Rate, a winner of two of his four races to date; Paul Nicholls' Patches, who should appreciate the step up in trip today, and Sargasso Sea, a bumper winner here in 2003 and better than the bare form of his Chepstow third last time might suggest. However, this could well prove to be a battle between Accipiter and Jollyolly, with the latter just getting the nod.
