held up towards rear, headway approaching 4 out, no impression from 2 out
towards rear, badly hampered 4th, soon detached, pulled up before 7th
held up in mid-division, headway 7th, led last, kept on well
held up towards rear, fell 4th
close up, led 2 out, headed last, no extra
tracked leaders, ridden approaching 3 out, no impression from 2 out
held up towards rear, hampered 7th, never dangerous
towards rear, reminders after 3rd, chased leaders approaching 4th, kept on same pace
always behind, hampered 7th
in touch, weakened from 5 out
tracked leaders, weakened 5th
held up in mid-division, fell 7th
led, headed 2 out, soon weakened
SHELOMOH, Bamby and Native Coll make up our speculative shortlist in another relatively weak affair with the former just preferred. Paddy Aspell is riding well at present and he resumes what has in the past been a winning partnership with our selection who failed by the most narrow of margins last time. He's up 2lbs for that but this ground seems more to his liking than the quicker conditions faced that day and the nine-year-old has plenty in his favour. Bamby was well backed before proving disappointing last time but, like our selection, these more testing conditions will hopefully help the horse return to form. He's not won this season but hasn't had many chances and does have a course and distance success to his name, proving he has the ability to stay on up the hill. Native Coll is a slightly risky addition to the list as he races from out of the weights and was a shade disappointing last time. However, Campbell Gillies is value for his claim and the horse loves a muddy two miles so with doubts about plenty of rivals and no weight to carry he's not without hope. Cash Man ran well here last time and should also be considered despite going up in the weights, whilst Et Maintenant is always a force in this grade when his jumping holds up. With that a real question mark though he's opposable along with Justtheoneforyou who has lacked fluency at times. Quicuyo would look to have plenty of weight but again Ryan Mania's claim helps and he's not done much wrong in a brief chasing career so there could be more to come, but as things stand we're happy enough to side with Shelomoh.
Quicuyo (GER) 8-1 (10-10) Held up in rear, headway and in touch 4 out, chased leading pair next, outpaced 2 out, ridden and lost 3rd flat, soon weakened, 4th of 7, 26l behind Kilmackilloge (11-12) at Kelso 2m 1f hcp chs 0-130 (3) gs in Mar.
Carrietau 5-1 (11-7) Led, hit 4th, reminder and headed 6th, weakened approaching 3 out, 7th of 8, 31l behind Drever Route (11-9) at Catterick 2m hcp chs 0-115 (4) gs in Mar.
Et Maintenant (FR) 9-2 (10-10) Close up, led approaching 10th, headed 5 out, weakened 2 out, 3rd of 8, 20l behind Jimmy Bond (10-5) at Newcastle 2m 4f hcp chs 0-130 (3) sft in Mar.
Tartan Snow 9-1 (10-13) Held up towards rear on outside, outpaced 8th, weakened 3 out, pulled up before last, in a race won by Kilmackilloge (11-12) at Kelso 2m 1f hcp chs 0-130 (3) gs in Mar, 7 ran.
Cash Man (IRE) 6-1 (11-2) Led, soon clear, hard ridden and strongly challenged approaching last, headed and no extra close home, 2nd of 6, 1/2l behind Cash On Friday (10-2) at Carlisle 2m 4f hcp chs 0-115 (4) gs in Mar.
Sotovik (IRE) 9-1 (11-9) Tracked leaders, every chance 3 out, weakened approaching last, 11th of 13, well behind Mister Marker (11-3) at Carlisle 2m 4f cond hcp hdl 0-1115 (4) gs in Mar.
Justtheoneforyou 10-3 (11-12) With leader, led after 3rd, ridden and headed before 3 out, kept on same pace until weakened flat, 5th of 8, 9l behind St Killian's Run (11-4) at Newcastle 2m hcp chs 0-105 (4) sft in Mar.
Shelomoh (IRE) 14-1 (11-12) Tracked leaders, challenged 4 out, led next, headed last, regained lead flat, caught post, 2nd of 8, shd behind Bene Lad (10-7) at Carlisle 2m hcp chs 0-100 (4) gd in Mar.
Norminster 22-1 (11-1) Tracked leading pair until fell 4th, in a race won by St Killian's Run (11-4) at Newcastle 2m hcp chs 0-105 (4) sft in Mar, 8 ran.
Bamby (IRE) 3-1fav (10-12) Held up mid-division, weakened from 6th, 6th of 11, 30l behind Overbranch (10-4) at Hexham 2m cnd hcp hdl 0-110 (4) gd in Mar.
Flaming Heck 9-1 (11-5) In touch, joined winner 4 out, hit and lost place next, ridden and outpaced between last 2, no extra flat, 7th of 11, 7l behind Duke of Malfi (11-2) at Hexham 2m hcp chs 0-95 (5) gs in Nov.
Ice Image (IRE) 12-1 (10-10) In touch, joined leaders 8th, led briefly before 3 out, soon ridden, 4 lengths down in 2nd last, kept on same pace, lost 2nd towards finish, 3rd of 8, 4 1/2l behind St Killian's Run (11-4) at Newcastle 2m hcp chs 0-105 (4) sft in Mar.
Native Coll 9-4fav (9-11) Led to after 3rd, tracked leader, challenged 8th, ridden after 4 out, oupaced when mistake 3 out and next, rallied flat to go 2nd towards finish, no impression, 2nd of 8, 4l behind St Killian's Run (11-4) at Newcastle 2m hcp chs 0-105 (4) sft in Mar.
