chased leaders, went 2nd after 6th, ridden after 4 out, held from next, not fluent 2 out and rider lost iron, lost 2nd near finish
led until 2nd, led 6th, in command from 3 out, idled flat
stumbled 1st, always towards rear, tailed off and pulled up before 4 out
led after 1st until 6th, soon behind, tailed off
tailed off 5th, pulled up before 7th
hit 1st, held up, headway and not fluent 7th, soon ridden, plugged on from 3 out, went 2nd near finish
Nonrunner
Nonrunner
Cleymor House was good value for his win at Hereford last week and has to be respected under his 7lb penalty for that effort but the softer surface today may be against Alison Thorpe's gelding and preference is for Olival, who gets the vote ahead of Leading Article. The last mentioned made a promising start to his chasing career when a close third behind Sunisa at Huntingdon earlier this week and he has claims if able to build on that effort. Mystical Star has been well held of late and is hard to recommend, while Necker has similarly given little sign of optimism recently. Kappelhoff has struggled in two starts since landing a selling chase here in December and the vote goes to Olival. The six-year-old ran much better at Folkestone last time, has slipped to a fair mark and he should appreciate the underfoot conditions more than Cleymor House.
Olival (FR) 8-1 (11-12) In touch, ridden 3 out, stayed on to take 3rd flat, 3rd of 11, 3 1/2l behind Green Gamble (10-13) at Folkestone 2m hcp chs 0-90 (5) gs in Feb.
Cleymor House (IRE) 13-8fav (10-5) Tracked leader, led 3rd, headed 4th, led again after 4 out, driven when mistake 3 out, ridden approaching last, ran on, won at Hereford 2m hcp chs 0-90 (5) gd beating Wild Power (11-4) by 9l, 10 ran.
Mystical Star (FR) 6-1 (11-0) Prominent until 10th, weakened 4 out, 8th of 11, 25l behind Cleymor House (9-11) at Fontwell 2m 4f hcp chs 0-95 (5) gs.
Necker (FR) 33-1 (9-13) Led, headed 11th, weakened next, 7th of 10, 37l behind Magot De Grugy (11-8) at Lingfield 2m 4f hcp chs 0-110 (4) hvy in Dec.
Mysaynoway 100-1 (10-5) In touch, lost place 5th behind 2 out, 10th of 13, 50l behind Topflight Wildbird (11-5) at Folkestone 2m 1f mrs nov hdl (4) gs in Feb.
Kappelhoff (IRE) 25-1 (10-5) In touch, blundered 9th, weakened next pulled up at the last in race won by Massini Sunset (10-6) at Fontwell 2m 4f hcp chs (5) sft in Jan, 15 ran.
Leading Article (IRE) 16-1 (11-0) Pulled hard, tracked leaders, hit 5th, not fluent 9th, ridden to challenge 2 out, kept on same pace, 3rd of 4, 7l behind Sunisa (10-7) at Huntingdon 2m nov chs (4) gd.
Somewin (IRE) 40-1 (10-0) Always towards rear, not fluent 4th, never a factor, 6th of 14, 25l behind Ask The Umpire (10-5) at Towcester 2m cnd hcp chs (5) hvy in Jan.
