William Hill Rowland Meyrick Chase
Grade 3 Handicap, Wetherby 14:10
£40,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus,
3m 45y, Class 1  
Sunday 26th December 2021

SureWIn

1 Good Boy Bobby 4/1
2 Lord Du Mesnil 33/1
3 Top Ville Ben 10/1
9 ran NR: Debece Distances: 1¾l, 8½l, 7½l
Time: 6m 58.44s (slow by 54.44s)

In a race where class came to the fore with the first four places filled by four of the first five on the racecard, it was Good Boy Bobby who proved to be the toughest of them all.

Always in the front rank, the eight-year-old was racing off a 5lb higher mark than when a narrow second to Aye Right in the Rehearsal Chase at Newcastle and is clearly still on the upgrade.

With usual partner Daryl Jacob absent through injury, the trainer’s son came in for the ride and always had his mount in the right place.

However, he may have been slightly fortunate as Sandy Thomson’s Empire Steel still looked to be travelling better than anything else when coming down four from home.

That left Good Boy Bobby, Top Ville Ben and Lord Du Mesnil battling it out in front with Lake View Lad on their tails in fourth.

On the run to the last the front three were finding it hard going, but Good Boy Bobby found it in his reserves to put in a big leap at the last.

It was a slow-motion finish but the winner prevailed by a length three-quarters at 4-1 to emerge as a genuine Grand National contender for a yard who certainly know what it takes to win that race.

Rowland Meyrick Handicap Chase
£40,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 3m 45y, Class 1
9 ran
Going: Soft

POS. DIST HORSE AGE TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1     Good Boy Bobby 8 11-8 Nigel Twiston-Davies Sam Twiston-Davies 4/1
2 1¾ Lord Du Mesnil 8 11-12 Richard Hobson Kielan Woods 33/1
3 8½ Top Ville Ben 9 11-12 Philip Kirby Thomas Dowson 10/1
4 7½  Lake View Lad 11 11-11 N W Alexander Henry Brooke 9/1
FELL Empire Steel 7 11-3 Sandy Thomson Ryan Mania 4/1
PU Takingrisks 12 11-7 Nicky Richards Sean Quinlan 33/1
PU Windsor Avenue 9 11-7 Brian Ellison Nathan Moscrop 8/1
PU Cloudy Glen 8 11-12 Venetia Williams Charlie Deutsch 8/1
PU Silver Hallmark 7 11-7 Fergal O'Brien Adam Wedge 5/2F
NR Debece 10 10-11 Dan Skelton NON RUNNER

BetGoodwin