held up, headway approaching 4th, ridden and carried head high approaching last, stayed on to lead towards finish
led, hit 3rd, ridden approaching 2 out, headed towards finish
track leaders, not fluent 4th, ridden approaching 8th, weakened next
held up, went 2nd at 6th, weakened approaching 3 out, eased flat
keen, prominent, blundered 5th, 3rd when fell next
jumped right, in touch, lost touch 7th, soon tailed off
always behind, tailed off when carried out by loose horse, 4 out
A good little race this, with Just Murphy, Burning Truth, Mantusis and Virgin Soldier all potentially decent, and the vote goes to Mantusis on his return to the track. The Philip Hobbs-trained gelding makes his chasing debut here and his first racecourse appearance since September 2001. While that would be a concern with some trainers, Hobbs can certainly get them fit to win first time out and the fact that he has persisted with the eight-year-old speaks volumes for his regard for the animal. A winner six times on the bounce over hurdles two years ago, he relishes fast ground and with Richard Johnson booked he can make a successful chasing debut. Just Murphy has to shoulder top weight and is another smart performer. Hobbs will have a great form line for him with Brother Joe, who thrashed Just Murphy here last time, and while the Nicky Henderson-trained runner can finish closer to Mantusis than the 16 lengths he lost by last time, he will do well to win here. Virgin Soldier has been a decent hurdler in his time and is another to be making his debut over the bigger obstacles here. Fit from the flat, a big run would be no surprise to anyone and if he jumps well enough he should have the speed to get close to these, giving the race added significance. Of the remainder Burning Truth has fencing experience already, though he has been beaten into second by a total of 32 lengths in his two starts so far and looks to have a bit to find to trouble these. The selection then, is chasing newcomer Mantusis.
