Doncaster - February 6

Drying ground bordering on good in parts, low sun making a mockery of the action later on the card, which was a very modest one to say the least.

Not much to take from the first, a 0-105 handicap chase with few potential improvers, as you would expect it was Twister's Imperial Nemesis that was the only one to take from the paddock, surely he has better in him and he came out of the pack to chase home Minella Examiner, who was long gone.

Classic D Cook, able to set his own pace on the lead jumping well, trading at odds on before jumping the fourth last and there was no hint of the fall that scuppered his last run at Wetherby.

He was impressive but won't have things as easy in the future, and a rise may scupper him next time as this really was low grade stuff.

Some decent types for the juvenile but they were well spaced out down the stretch, Zoffee making the most of his experience to clear right away from Isolate, who was fit on his first start and should be winning before too long.

Third placed Rikoboy does carry his head a little high and may be one to be wary of, while Kangaroo Valley came in for support but he ran a similar race to the one at Catterick last time, looking moody and never travelling.

Seven went to post for another handicap chase and the better ground seemed to suit Mr McGo, who was the one I couldn't have on my mind after several tame finishing efforts.

In another race that completely came apart, he was able to overcome a few dodgy leaps to beat an out of form Cave Top, with none of the potential 'closers' ever looking likely to get involved. This is dire form, the early favourite Well Smitten beaten a mile out.

The Class 3 handicap hurdle for stayers wasn't a bad sort of race and featured a few likely to do well in future, notably Manning Estate who had come in for a little support and has plenty of size and scope.

He'd been pretty consistent over timber at a fair level last season and was one of just a few with scope to improve quite considerably, and he did just that giving the impression there's even more to come on this better ground.

Vodka All The Way was being stoked along a fair way out but plugged on in the manner of one with abundant stamina, although stablemate Merry Milan only made late gains and is becoming disappointing.

Brillare Momento looked in need of the run but was still pretty poor, while Star Of Rory isn't very big and quite modest looking.

The last three hurdles races had all hurdles in the home straight omitted, effectively doing for the unfortunate Glory And Fortune in the next, who hasn't had the rub of the green now in his last three outings.

Stopped in his run at Haydock and then caught out by a very steady pace at Cheltenham, this looked a good opportunity despite the presence of a Henderson Flat exile, but while jockey S Sheppard surely did the right thing by setting out to make all, he fell asleep at the wheel in the second half of the race, seemingly unwilling to wind the pace up.

That simply played into the hands of Buzz, who looks far from straight forward, but with an easy target to aim at always looked like outpacing his more stoutly bred opponent.

A fine looking horse, there is a decent race in Glory Of Fortune this spring providing he gets a decent pace to shoot at.

South Seas was one of the smaller ones and didn't get home, beaten for third by a fair looking type in Kannapolis, an ex-Flat horse that would have been kept for this sort of surface. There were some fair handicapping sorts in behind and the race should be followed.

The mares handicap was a nightmare, winner Getaway Mag one of the smaller ones, beating Precious Leader who isn't a bad sort and benefited from this stiffer test after finding a slow-run 2m against her last time.

There were some dismal efforts in behind although Miss Gemstone looked one to bear in mind at some stage in the future, and she wouldn't have been favoured by the absence of things to jump.

The finale was an horrendous affair, with just Out On The Tear showing any sort of reliability and form heading into the race. The only question mark was whether a couple of tough races in the Uttoxeter mire had left its mark, and can be only reason behind the market weakness.

Well, he dispelled those doubts with another gutsy effort, yet another feather in the cap of trainer S Allwood, this horse continuing to progress after looking a bit of a tearaway earlier in his career. He was well named.