led, headed 2nd, soon dropped to rear, behind and pulled up before 8th
tracked winner 2nd, led 5th till 8th, every chance when fell on landing 10th
in touch, hampered 10th, chased winner 4 out until next, chased winner again 2 out, ridden and every chance last, stayed on
held up in rear, slow 6th, blundered 9th, behind from 5 out, pulled up before 2 out
close up, led 2nd till 5th, led again 8th, ridden 3 out, stayed on well
close up, ridden 8th, behind from 5 out
tracked leaders, ridden 4 out, chased winner 3 out until before 2 out, mistake and outpaced 2 out, stayed on strongly towards finish
Another chance is given to the expensive to follow Nikola but he faces some interesting rivals this afternoon. Nous Voila was highly tried by the Pipe yard and it will be interesting to see if his new connections can get a better tune out of him whilst his old stable saddle Learning The Blues who would have to be feared on his chase bow if the market were to give out the right signals. Down's Folly has shown a consistent level of form and one of these should come his way at some stage with Bouncing King another to have done enough to indicate that he can win races over fences. The selection was turned over at long odds-on here last time when not helped by the antics of a loose horse. That was the sixth time in eight chase starts that he's found one too good but he's bumped into some fair sorts and hasn't done an awful lot wrong; today may be Nikola's day.
Bouncing King 5-2jt-fav (11-12) Led, headed approaching 5th, stayed in touch, ridden 4 out, soon one pace, 3rd of 7, 16l behind The Joker (11-0) at Musselburgh 2m 4f nov hcp chs 0-110 (4) gs in Jan.
Cheating Chance (IRE) 22-1 (11-0) Tracked leaders, hit 10th, went left 11th, weakened before 5 out, 5th of 16, well behind Flying Falcon (11-0) at Chepstow 2m 3f beg chs (4) gs in Feb.
Down's Folly (IRE) 9-2 (11-9) Held up, headway after 13th, ridden to chase leaders 3 out, weakened last, 4th of 11, 9l behind Comber (10-6) at Ludlow 2m 4f hcp chs 0-130 (3) sft in Feb.
Masterpoint 25-1 (11-3) Always in rear, 9th of 13, well behind Yellow Flag (10-11) at Fakenham 2m nov hcp hdl 0-105 (4) gd in Nov.
Nikola (FR) 1-2fav (11-0) Left in lead 1st, hampered and headed after 4th, chased winner after, effort 3 out, soon ridden, one pace, 2nd of 5, 4l behind Fandani (11-0) at Leicester 2m beg chs (4) gs in Feb.
Nous Voila (FR) 11-1 (11-4) Chased leader, slipped on landing 2nd, lost 2nd before next, jumped slowly 6th, 7th and 8th and gradually lost place, behind next, soon tailed off, 5th of 8, well behind Moon Over Miami (11-4) at Cheltenham 2m nov chs Grd 2 (1) gs in Nov.
Learning The Blues (FR) 7-2 (11-8) Led to 1st, chased leaders, not fluent 2nd, reminders, struggling after next, behind after 6th, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out pulled up 3 out in race won by Kings Euro (11-6) at Uttoxeter 2m 6f nov hdl (4) hvy in Jul, 12 ran.
