held up in touch, struggling 4 out, tailed off
held up in touch, mistake 4th, jumped left 14th, chased leading pair next, no impression when jumped left last, lost poor 3rd flat
close-up, chased winner before 9th, blundered next, blundered and lost place 4 out, stayed on under pressure before 2 out, took poor 3rd flat
always behind, mistake 5th, tailed off
raced keenly, tracked leader until led 4th, clear 9th, in command when jumped left 2 out, not fluent last
chased leaders until lost place 9th, headway before 4 out, went 2nd next, no impression when blundered last
held up in rear, blundered badly 7th, some headway under pressure before 3 out, soon beaten
led to 4th, chased winner, driven along 13th, lost 2nd 3 out and weakened quickly
Sorry, folks, but this is a very modest heat with the vote going to Leith Hill Star over Alvaro and maybe Jollyshau. It is hard to get excited about the chances of most of the field here but Leith Hill Star won a Sandown hurdle from a mark of 94 in February and, while his form has certainly not developed from there, anywhere near that type of form has to see him in the picture on his chasing debut. Alvaro was second in a Chepstow seller last time, but at least he has experience of jumping fences, while Jollyshau has shown bits of hurdling form and could improve for the larger obstacles. In truth, it's hard to build a compelling case for the others, although the lightly-raced Brave Caradan is one that could do better in this sphere. The vote, though, goes to Leith Hill Star.
