in rear and in touch, mistake 2nd, headway 4 out, chased winner before last, kept on and held towards finish
tracked winner until 2nd, ridden and one pace from last
made all, ridden after last, kept on well
tracked leaders in 3rd, jumped right and went 2nd from 2nd, pushed along 4 out, lost place before next
Kealigolane won three times over hurdles and has shown promise over fences, most notably when a close-up fourth at Catterick two runs ago. Ballybriggan should improve for his fourth to Fourjacks at Wetherby and was also decent over the smaller obstacles but neither of the nine-year-olds have the scope of VULCANITE. Charlie Longsdon's gelding didn't jump well when favourite at Plumpton a month ago but had impressed at Hereford on his chasing bow and won't be crowded here with only three rivals. Russe Blanc could improve now he tackles fences but it's a worry that he hasn't seen meaningful action since April last year.
Vulcanite (IRE) Evensfav (11-4) Tracked leaders, blundered 5th, ridden before last, soon switched right, one pace, 3rd of 4, 5l behind Salden Licht (10-12) at Plumpton 2m 1f nov chs (3) sft in Jan.
Ballybriggan (IRE) 10-3 (11-0) Tracked leaders, went 2nd from 4th, weakened before last, 4th of 7, 26l behind Fourjacks (11-0) at Wetherby 2m 4f nov chs (4) sft in Jan.
Kealigolane (IRE) 6-1 (11-1) Led to 8th, tracked leader, pushed along and lost place from 4 out, ridden and weakened before 3 out, 4th of 5, 28l behind Dunowen Point (11-7) at Wetherby 2m hcp chs 0-145 (2) sft in Jan.
Russe Blanc (FR) 9-2fav (11-11) Tracked leaders, weakened after 3 out, 9th of 13, well behind Trojan Sun (10-12) at Southwell 2m 4f nov hcp hdl 0-105 (4) sft in Apr.
