pressed leader, led 4th, jumped left 6th, jumped left 9th, cocked jaw and took wrong course soon after
led until 4th, left in lead 9th, clear 3 out, readily
chased leaders, jumped right at times, closed 9th, outpaced after 13th, went 3rd before 3 out, stayed on same pace, no impression on winner
held up, closed 9th, not fluent and 2nd 10th, 3rd when mistake 4 out, soon beaten, blundered and weakened next
chased leaders, not always fluent, hit 7th, closed 9th, 2nd from 13th, no impression on winner 3 out, stayed on same pace
Saint Raph may need this but Irish import Mackeys Forge has been knocking on the door lately. So has Bertie's Desire and though the latter is still creeping up the weights Thomas Garner claims 5lb here. Bincombe will strip fitter for a run over hurdles, though is 7lb higher than when scoring at Haydock in March. BALLYALLIA MAN hasn't run since April but has been placed on his reappearance in the last two seasons so fitness shouldn't be an issue. He was taking on better opposition last winter and has won over course and distance off a higher mark in the past so must be worth a second look.
Bincombe 4-1 (10-12) Tracked leaders, mistake 7th, ridden 3 out, slightly hampered 2 out, one pace, no extra last, 3rd of 9, 20l behind Relentless Dreamer (10-12) at Chepstow 2m 4f nh nov hdl (4) gs in Oct.
Ballyallia Man (IRE) 9-2fav (11-2) Tracked leaders, ridden before 2 out, one pace, 4th of 10, 10l behind Hector's Choice (11-11) at Wincanton 2m 5f hcp chs 0-130 (3) gs in Apr.
Mackeys Forge (IRE) 5-2 (11-5) Led, strongly pressed when awkward last, soon hung badly left under pressure and headed 150 yards out, kept on same pace, 2nd of 5, 3/4l behind Many Stars (11-5) at Exeter 3m beg chs (4) gf in Oct.
Saint Raph (FR) 16-1 (10-11) won at Cagnes-sur-Mer(FR) 2m 3f 4yo hcp chs sft in Dec '12 beating Hawk The Talk (10-7) by 8l, 11 ran.
Bertie's Desire 7-1 (10-8) Led, headed before 6th led 9th, headed before 3 out, held when blundered last, no chance with winner, 2nd of 10, 6l behind Hollow Penny (11-7) at Wincanton 2m 4f hcp chs 0-130 (3) gd in Oct.
