mid-division, hit 8th, led 13th, clear from 4 out
held up, behind, weakened from 13th
led, clear to 8th, headed 13th, weakened 3 out, pulled up before last
held up towards rear and not fluent, one pace from 3 out
chased leader, weakened after 4 out, lost poor 3rd approaching last
held up, chased winner after 4 out, no impression
always behind, jumped badly right, pulled up after 5 out
chased leaders, blundered 4th, lost place from 6th, hit 8th, stayed on to take 4th towards finish
Nice to see the old boys get a run out against each other here and D'ARGENT, looks to have a winning chance. Alan King's gelding goes well when fresh and usually jumps well. Stamina is his forte and that should be brought into play with a decent pace here, while the ground also suits so we'll side with him. Kenzo III acts on the ground and now that he is getting a bit long in the tooth he may well prove to be a more convincing stayer. In any case, he is not on such a bad mark and is likely to be straight enough. Aleron is up 5lb for a recent Stratford success and Ever Present is dropping back to a competitive mark, though Litski is likely to need this after a long break and D'Argent can grab the money here.
Fundamentalist (IRE) 33-1 (11-9) Mid-division, mistake 12th, headway approaching 4 out, outpaced before 3 out, stayed on flat, no impression, 7th of 17, 21l behind Parsons Legacy (11-7) at Cheltenham 3m hcp chs (2) gd.
Rambling Minster 18-1 (11-3) Chased leaders until weakened 4 out, 6th of 20, 19l behind An Accordion (10-3) at Doncaster 3m lst hcp chs (1) gd in Jan.
Kenzo Iii (FR) 16-1 (11-7) Tracked winner, ridden and weakened 3 out, 5th of 18, 25l behind Eric's Charm (11-1) at Perth 3m hcp chs (2) gs in Apr.
El Vaquero (IRE) 14-1 (11-12) In touch, mistake 9th, 6th when fell at the 10th in race won by Out The Black (11-4) at Ascot 3m hcp chs 0-145 (2) gd in Apr, 13 ran.
Ever Present (IRE) 16-1 (11-1) Held up, headway 4 out, weakened from next, 7th of 18, 30l behind Eric's Charm (11-1) at Perth 3m hcp chs (2) gs in Apr.
Aleron (IRE) 14-1 (11-12) Mid-division, in rear when not fluent 4th, headway 8th (water), went 2nd 3 out, ridden after 2 out, led last, wandered flat, driven out, won at Stratford 2m 5f hcp chs 0-120 (3) sft in Sept beating Fantastic Arts (10-13) by a nk, 14 ran.
Kitski (FR) 7-4 (11-12) Led, ridden and headed 10th, soon outpaced, no impression from next, 3rd of 5, well behind Pay Attention (11-1) at Market Rasen 2m 4f nov chs (3) gf in Apr '07.
Another Rum (IRE) 66-1 (10-0) Held up, weakened from 20th, 11th of 24, well behind Iris De Balme (9-7) at Ayr 4m hcp chs Grd 3 (1) gd in Apr.
D'Argent (IRE) 16-1 (10-1) Disputed lead, headed and under pressure approaching 4 out, weakened soon after, 11th of 19, 45l behind Monkerhostin (10-13) at Sandown 3m 5f hcp chs Grd 3 (1) gd in Apr.
Burntoakboy 14-1 (10-6) In touch, hampered 11th, outpaced from 4 out, no danger after, 8th of 17, 21l behind Parsons Legacy (11-7) at Cheltenham 3m hcp chs (2) gd.
