held up last, left close 4th at 6th, close 3rd on inside and going ok when fell 3 out
tracked leading pair until 5th, left close 3rd at 6th, outpaced in 4th when left 3rd again 3 out, plugged on one pace
tracked leading trio, went 3rd at 5th, left close 2nd next, challenged 10th, led narrowly 11th, headed 13th, pushed along to lead again before 3 out, clear next, kept on strongly
tracked leader, mistake 5th, left in narrow lead and slightly hampered next, narrowly headed 11th, led again 13th, headed before 3 out, readily held before next, clear 2nd
held up in last pair until unseated rider 6th
led until brought down 6th
It took Sadler's Star seven attempts to get off the mark over fences but he was quite impressive in beating Fongoli by 14 lengths at Fontwell and Tom Cannon can claim 5lb again. Surfboard was well beaten back over the larger obstacles at Exeter last week, however, and Foreign King hasn't shown much this year. Gunship could go well if allowed to dominate and Petito just failed at Huntingdon in August but let's take a chance on the fitness of THE DARLING BOY. He was pretty consistent in his first season over fences and may just have a little scope for further improvement this term.
Surfboard (IRE) 5-1 (11-7) Held up, improved 7th, ridden to chase leading pair 4 out, weakened after 2 out, 5th of 8, well behind Justabout (10-12) at Exeter 3m hcp chs 0-115 (4) gf.
The Darling Boy 7-2fav (11-10) Chased leader until blundered and almost unseated rider 3rd, soon behind, driven 6th, behind when jumped slowly next, pulled up before 8th, in a race won by Seigneur Des Bois (11-12) at Southwell 2m nov hcp chs 0-115 (4) gd in Apr, 7 ran.
Sadler's Star (GER) 12-1 (11-10) 'chased leaders, led 3 out, clear before last, driven out, won at Fontwell 2m 6f cnd hcp chs (0-95) (5) gd beating Fongoli (10-0) by 14l, 6 ran.
Petito (IRE) 6-1 (11-9) Took keen hold, led, headed 5th, led again approaching 2 out, ridden and headed towards finish, 2nd of 6, nk behind Rock Me (11-2) at Huntingdon 2m hcp 0-100 (4) gf in Aug.
Foreign King (USA) 9-1 (11-9) Mid-division on inside, lost place 8th, soon behind, tailed off when pulled up before last, in a race won by Lucky Lukey (10-0) at Hereford 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-95 (5) gf in Aug, 10 ran.
Gunship (IRE) 5-1 (10-8) Led, headed after 4 out, soon weakened, 13th of 15, well behind Monty's Revenge (10-8) at Worcester 3m nov hcp hdl 0-95 (5) gd in Jul.
