chased leaders, weakened 4 out
held up, effort 4 out, soon weakened
held up, blundered badly and unseated rider 3rd
held up in touch, lost place 4 out
behind, blundered 6th, kept on from 3 out, never dangerous
chased leader, mistake 5th, weakened approaching last
led, steadied 7th, weakened after 4 out
chased leaders, went 2nd approaching 5th, led 7th, driven out
held up, hampered 3rd, headway approaching 4 out, mistake 3 out, went 2nd 2 out, kept on same pace run-in
It may be worth taking a chance with Cheer Us On in a contest which looks pretty open on paper. Media Man has solid claims but is clearly vulnerable. Im So Lonely and Stagecoach Amber are others of interest. The selection made a promising start to his career, beating the useful Treasury Counsel when landing a second success in a bumper but he failed to add to that tally over hurdles. He was tried in a visor last time and there are clearly issues but the switch to chasing may be the answer. Im So Lonely has failed to complete in both outings but his chance shouldn't be taken lightly whilst Media Man has proved himself to be a safe conveyance but keeps finding at least one too good; a race like this should be within his scope. Stagecoach Amber ran some fair races over hurdles, producing one of his best performances at this track and it would be no surprise to see him give a good account of himself on his chasing bow. Micky Hammond has saddled the winner of this race twice in recent years so Chateau Rouge has to be considered but Cheer Us On gets the vote.
Boscall Hill (IRE) 11-2 (10-7) Always behind, tailed off and pulled up at the 10th in race won by Kappelhoff (9-13) at Fontwell 2m 4f sll hcp chs 0-90 (5) gd in Dec, 9 ran.
Chateau Rouge (IRE) 16-1 (11-10) Held up and not fluent, struggling from 6th, headway when blundered 5 out, behind when pulled up 4 out in race won by Neutrino (10-13) at Wetherby 2m 4f nov hcp chs 0-105 (4) gf in Nov, 10 ran.
Cheer Us On 7-1 (11-0) Towards rear, headway 5th, effort after 3 out, went 2nd 2 out, no chance with winner, 2nd of 13, 9l behind Sculastic (11-7) at Sedgefield 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-110 (4) gd in Dec.
Curran (IRE) 11-1 (11-0) Behind when fell at the 9th in race won by Divex (11-0) at Catterick 2m 3f mdn chs (5) gf in Dec, 14 ran.
Erte 150-1 (11-0) Soon behind, never dangerous, 7th of 10, well behind Hobbs Hill (11-3) at Hexham 2m beg chs (4) gd in Oct.
Im So Lonely 14-1 (11-12) Towards rear when brought down 4 out in race won by Beantown (11-12) at Navan 2m 6f beg chs hvy in Jan, 18 ran.
