held up in touch, midfield 6th, ridden and lost place before 14th, not fluent 15th, losing ground when pulled up before 16th
held up towards rear, reminder 6th, awkward 10th, reminders 12th and 13th, some headway 15th, ridden after 18th, blundered 3 out, pulled up before 2 out
midfield, not fluent 10th, headway 13th, chased leader 14th, close up 17th, weakening when not fluent 4 out, slow jump 2 out, no extra
led, headed before 3rd, close up when ridden after 18th, lost place 4 out, pulled up before 3 out
held up towards rear, headway into midfield 8th, awkward 15th, ridden after 18th, headway into modest 4th 4 out, 3rd 3 out, stayed on but no chance with leading pair
prominent, led before 3rd, soon headed, not fluent 13th and reminders, weakened quickly before 18th, tailed off when pulled up before 4 out
prominent, close up 2nd, led 3rd, drew 5 lengths clear 4th, reduced advantage 14th, weakened when headed 18th, detached when pulled up before 4 out
held up in touch, headway to lead narrowly 18th, drew clear when not fluent 4 out, narrow advantage 3 out, ridden and headed before 2 out, kept on without troubling leader flat
held up in rear, hit 11th, driven after 14th, well behind before 4 out, plugged on from 3 out
in rear, not fluent 5th and 8th, headway 13th, ridden to chase leaders after 18th, one pace from 4 out
towards rear, blundered 7th and 11th, dropped to rear 14th, well adrift 15th, pulled up before 16th
held up towards rear, ridden after 16th, well adrift 18th, pulled up before 4 out
pushed into prominent position, dropped to midfield 3rd, reminders 9th, ridden after 16th, some headway under pressure after 18th, weakening when tired jump 3 out, pulled up before 2 out
midfield, hit 3rd, not fluent 12th, headway 18th, stayed on to chase leader 4 out, close up 3 out, ridden to lead before 2 out where not fluent, drew clear before last, stayed on strongly flat
Several won their penultimate starts but Eclair Mag failed to cope with a hike in the weights last time. Dawson City won at Wincanton in January and finished ahead of Amateur when third over a longer trip on his latest start while Seaston Spirit’s winning run came to an end when failing to complete last time. It remains to be seen if VOLCANO (NAP) copes any better raised a further 7lb for scoring at Warwick but he’s a progressive chaser having won four of his last six outings and Sheila Lewis’ grey looks worth sticking with. Bob Mahler continues to struggle while Pobbles Bay won this in 2019 but hasn’t scored since.
Hill Sixteen 17-2 (10-11) Mistakes towards rear, behind when jumped slowly 4th, tailed off and pulled up before 10th, at Ascot 3m hcp lst (1) sft in Feb.
Dominateur (FR) 12-1 (11-9) In rear, jumped slowly 2nd, jumped slowly 8th, blundered badly 12th and pulled up, at Sandown 3m hcp (2) hvy in Feb.
Bob Mahler (IRE) 25-1 (11-2) Held up in mid-division, blundered 1st, mistake 7th, ridden 4 out, about 10th but still not totally out of it when brought down 3 out, at Cheltenham 3m 2f hcp (2) gs in Mar.
Volcano (FR) 9-2 (11-12) Mostly chased leader, challenged 2 out, led before last, stayed on well, won at Warwick 3m 5f hcp (3) gs in Mar beating Goodnight Charlie (10-0) by 3 1/2l, 11 ran.
Eclair Mag (FR) 9-2 (11-12) In rear, mistake 12th, headway to move closer 4 out, chased leader 3 out, kept on in 2nd 2 out and last, not pace to challenge run-in, held onto 2nd when pressed close home, 2nd of 7, 4 1/2l behind Chapel Stile (11-13) at Carlisle 3m hcp (3) hvy in Feb.
Sizing At Midnight (IRE) 33-1 (11-0) Mid-division on inside, some headway when mistake 14th, hampered 16th, struggling when mistake 4 out, pulled up before 2 out, at Cheltenham 3m 2f hcp (2) gs in Mar.
Minella Daddy (IRE) 8-1 (11-12) Ran in snatches, chased leader, led after 3rd, headed 6th, lost 2nd at 11th, weakened 13th, last of 6, 33 1/2l behind El Presente (11-1) at Market Rasen 3m hcp (3) gd in Jul.
Legends Gold (IRE) 11-4 (10-12) Led, pushed along before 4 out, soon headed and lost 2nd, 3rd and beaten when bad mistake and weakened 2 out, eased, 5th of 6, dist behind Momella (10-12) at Exeter 3m lst (1) sft in Feb.
Dawson City 5-1 (11-6) Mid-division, good headway out wide chasing leaders before 14th, lost place and towards rear before 17th, rallied from 2 out, stayed on into 3rd last, 3rd of 14, 5 3/4l behind Samuel Jackson (11-0) at Exeter 3m 7f hcp (3) sft in Feb.
Seaston Spirit 7-1 (11-1) Never going well in rear, pulled up after slow jump 12th, at Wincanton 3m 1f hcp (3) hvy in Feb.
Kings Monarch 14-1 (11-3) Always towards rear, well behind 4 out, pulled up after, at Newbury 3m 2f hcp (3) sft in Dec.
Pobbles Bay (IRE) 9-1 (11-10) Midfield, brief headway before 3 out, soon outpaced and weakened after 2 out, 5th of 8, 21l behind Silva Eclipse (11-7) at Sedgefield 3m 2f hcp (3) gs in Mar.
Skipthecuddles (IRE) 5-1 (10-11) Tracked leader, towards rear 5th, pushed along in rear 16th, ridden before 3 out, stayed on from 2 out, took 2nd flat, 2nd of 5, 12l behind Coup De Pinceau (11-3) at Taunton 3m 4f hcp (3) sft in Mar.
Amateur (IRE) 11-2 (10-8) Always towards rear, blundered 16th, tailed off next, headway on inside approaching 4 out, went modest 4th last, 4th of 14, 7 1/4l behind Samuel Jackson (11-0) at Exeter 3m 7f hcp (3) sft in Feb.
