in rear, closed 5th, outpaced when mistake 3 out, well held from next
jumped well, made all, clear until after 4th, joined before 3 out, clear again from 2 out, stayed on gamely
chased winner until slow 5th, not fluent 7th, outpaced 3 out, well held from next
chased leaders, went 2nd from 5th, every chance 3 out, no impression on winner next, one pace
Leap Dearg is on a very long losing run but was running in strong handicap company in Ireland last winter and will be better for his recent comeback at Gowran. Dica jumped well and made all to gain his fifth victory over fences at Sedgefield on Boxing Day, though he only just scrambled home after idling on the run-in. He has been raised 5lb which may hand the initiative to UNO VALOROSO. Mark Walford's charge won a handicap at this level at Bangor in December and has found very testing conditions against him in recent starts so wouldn't want any more rain. Square Viviani has managed to win five times in France so won't be just making up the numbers.
Leap Dearg (IRE) 18-1 (10-11) Held up in rear, ridden and no impression before straight, under pressure in 5th and jumped slightly right 2 out, no extra before last, 5th of 6, 22l behind Tongie (10-1) at Gowran Park 2m hcp hvy in Feb.
Dica (FR) 15-2 (11-10) Made all, clear before last, got very tired run-in, just held on, won at Sedgefield 2m 3f hcp (4) sft in Dec beating Whitsundays (11-7) by shd, 7 ran.
Square Viviani (FR) (10-10) 4th of 12, dist behind Van Gogh Du Granit (11-2) at Pau 2m 7f hvy in Dec.
Uno Valoroso (FR) 16-1 (10-0) In touch, went 3rd before last, kept on same pace, 3rd of 7, 10 1/4l behind Dresden (11-12) at Wetherby 1m 7f hcp (3) hvy in Feb.
