held up and behind, headway 3 out, ridden next, stayed on to go 2nd last, no chance with winner
mid-division, mistake 7th, ridden and weakened 3 out
tracked leader, led 4th, headed before 3 out, ridden and not fluent last, no extra
behind, pushed along after 5th, never dangerous
mid-division, headway 6th, driven and outpaced 4 out, soon weakened
led, headed 4th, hit next, chased leaders until lost place 6th, soon behind
tracked leaders, headway 4 out, led before next, driven clear last, comfortably
in touch, tracked leader 5th, challenged 7th, lost place after 4 out, ridden and weakened approaching last
Nonrunner
Wild Is The Wind has done little wrong in two starts this term but Jonjo O'Neill's gelding has plenty of weight to carry and he may struggle to concede so much weight to Birdwatch, who gets the vote ahead of Carapuce. The last mentioned has run two solid races in defeat this term but a 4lb rise for the latest of them leaves Len Lungo's gelding with more to do. General Duroc has won his last two but may struggle to make it three on the bounce off his new mark dropping back in distance. Jack Martin is better than he showed on his return but is hard to back with any confidence on that evidence and a safer bet looks to be Birdwatch. Keith Reveley's gelding has gone up 7lbs for his hard-earned success over You Do The Math at Ayr last time but he remains relatively unexposed over hurdles and, crucially, receives plenty of weight all round and in this ground that may make the difference.
Wild Is The Wind (FR) Evensfav (11-5) Held up, headway approaching 3 out, chased winner approaching next, soon ridden and no impression, 2nd of 7, 6l behind Nathos (11-6) at Market Rasen 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-125 (D) hvy in Nov.
Carapuce (FR) 7-1 (10-10) Held up in touch, tracked leaders 5th, led 3 out, soon ridden, headed towards finish, no extra, 2nd of 7, 3/4l behind Habitual Dancer (10-7) at Ayr 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-135 (3) sft.
Maletton (FR) 20-1 (11-4) Held up in touch, slow jump 2nd, not fluent next, tracked leaders approaching 5th, weakened before 3 out, 9th of 12, well behind Dom d'Orgeval (11-3) at Lingfield 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-140 (B) sft in Dec.
Mister Arjay (USA) 50-1 (11-4) Held up towards rear, pushed along 4th, weakened next, 9th of 12, 48l behind Town Crier (11-1) at Wetherby 2m hcp hdl 0-130 (3) sft.
Jack Martin (IRE) 50-1 (10-4) Chased leader, ridden after 3 out, soon weakened, 13th of 15, 36l behind Nathos (11-0) at Market Rasen 2m 6f hcp hdl (B) gs in Nov.
General Duroc (IRE) 8-1 (11-9) With leader, headway 3 out, ridden to lead last, stayed on well, won at Sedgefield 3m 3f hcp hdl 0-110 (E) hvy in Dec beating San Peire (11-2) by 7l, 10 ran.
Corlande (IRE) 20-1 (11-7) Chased leaders, weakened after 4 out, 11th of 19, 32l behind All Star (11-7) at Huntingdon 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-120 (D) gd in Nov.
Birdwatch 2-1fav (10-11) Made all, clear approaching 3 out, ridden approaching last, driven out, won at Ayr 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) sft beating You Do The Math (10-8) by 3/4l, 11 ran.
Corbie Lynn 50-1 (10-6) Chased winner to after 4 out, soon beaten, 10th of 18, 49l behind Russian Sky (10-2) at Wetherby 2m 7f hcp hdl 0-130 (C) sft in Dec.
