tracked leaders, raced keenly, went 2nd when not fluent 3 out, 3 lengths down flat, stayed on, no impression
held up in last trio, headway before 8th shaken up 3 out, soon beaten, one pace next
prominent, led before 3rd, 3 lengths last, ridden flat, idled towards finish
prominent, not fluent 4th, niggled along and lost place from 6th, ridden and lost touch after next, tailed off 8th, pulled up after
held up in last trio, not fluent 8th when in touch, ridden after 4 out, weakened before 3 out
held up in last trio, ridden and struggling before 8th, tailed off after 4 out
took keen hold, led until before 3rd, stayed prominent, not fluent 7th, ridden before 3 out, soon one pace and beaten, not fluent last, weakened flat
KINGSMERE won a better race than this by a long way at Cheltenham in April and though 9lb higher has to be the selection in the hope of reproducing that form. Winning point-to-pointer Brandon Hill was having just his third start over timber when scoring over this trip at Exeter and makes his handicap debut. Henri Parry Morgan couldn't quite hold off Truckers Darling at Doncaster but hasn't had much experience and should make further progress while Masterful Act has become a specialist at Southwell on the Flat but made a very encouraging start for Dan Skelton at Market Rasen. Veauce De Sivola ended the last campaign with a clear cut victory on testing ground at Taunton in February but though likely to have needed his comeback at Chepstow in November he produced a very disappointing performance.
El Dancer (GER) 9-1 (11-6) Held up in rear, not fluent 9th, pushed along next, modest 6th 5 out, soon well beaten, tailed off, 7th of 9, 48l behind Grouse Lodge (11-1) at Cheltenham 2m 5f nov ltd hcp chs 0-135 (3) sft in Apr '13.
Kingsmere 13-2 (11-6) Held up in rear, headway approaching 4 out, plugged on, went modest 4th run-in, 4th of 12, 12l behind Gorsky Island (11-6) at Ludlow 3m 1f hcp chs 0-130 (3) gs in Dec.
Brandon Hill (IRE) 15-2 (11-0) Raced keenly, led after 1st until after next, chased leaders, 2nd again going well before 3 out, led approaching 3 out, ridden and edged left flat, stayed on well, won at Exeter 2m 7f mdn hdl (4) sft in Dec beating Nitrogen (11-0) by 1 3/4l, 9 ran.
Henri Parry Morgan 7-1 (11-12) In touch, driven to lead approaching 3 out, headed before next, rallied closing stages, kept on under pressure, 2nd of 10, 2 3/4l behind Truckers Darling (11-6) at Doncaster 3m hcp hdl 0-120 (4) sft in Dec.
Veauce De Sivola (FR) 11-4 (11-9) Held up towards rear, weakened before 4 out, quickly pulled up, in a race won by Tullyesker Hill (11-12) at Chepstow 3m hcp hdl 0-125 (3) sft in Nov, 6 ran.
Drumlang (IRE) 33-1 (10-10) Led, not fluent and headed 4 out, outpaced next, weakened before last, 11th of 13, 21l behind Roman Flight (11-4) at Cheltenham 2m Conditional Handicap Hurdle (0-140) (3yo+) (3) gd in Oct.
Masterful Act (USA) 7-2 (11-12) Midfield, headway 3 out, chased leaders next, stayed on same pace, 2nd of 10, 4 1/2l behind It's Oscar (10-6) at Market Rasen 2m 5f nov hcp hdl 0-100 (5) gs in Dec.
