held up in touch, dropped to rear 5th, ridden 13th, mistake next, soon weakened, pulled up 2 out
in touch in rear, headway to track leaders 4th, ridden 4 out, weakened 2 out
led, mistake 10th, ridden and headed before 3 out, plugged on, lost 2nd near finish
tracked leader, hit 6th, led before 3 out, clear approaching last, eased flat
close up, ridden 13th, plugged on from 2 out, went 2nd near finish
Nonrunner
Harris dead-heated in a marathon over hurdles here in December and connections quickly send him over fences to which he should definitely be suited. Pinerolo makes his handicap debut over fences after a couple of moderate efforts and he's always looked like a potential staying chaser. DIOCLES is taking a big step-up in trip after scoring over 2m3f here where he jumped well and stayed on strongly. He's been raised 7lb but looks another nice prospect for his yard and can complete the double. Alderbrook Lad won two handicaps here before finding Supreme Asset too strong at Carlisle last week. He's never been anywhere near this trip under Rules so his stamina has to be taken on trust. Son Of Flicka, who won the Coral Cup in 2012, could only finish second in a three-horse affair here on New Year's Day but probably retains some ability and is well handicapped over fences. Mitchell's Way, a dual winning hurdler, has only had one run over fences but A P McCoy's presence in the saddle is a bonus.
Diocles (IRE) 4-1 (10-12) Tracked leading pair, went 2nd after 4 out, led when not fluent next, clear last, stayed on well, won at Catterick 2m 3f nov hcp chs (0-125) (3) gd in Dec beating Big Water (11-3) by 14l, 5 ran.
Mitchell's Way 15-2 (11-0) Tracked leaders on outside, close up 9th, pecked 11th, driven 4 out, kept on same pace, weakened before last, 4th of 5, 25l behind Yesyoucan (11-7) at Wetherby 2m 4f nov chs (4) sft in Jan.
Alderbrook Lad (IRE) 11-4 (10-9) Tracked clear leader, blundered 2nd, blundered 6 out, left in lead 5 out, ridden before last, headed soon after, no extra, 2nd of 5, 3l behind Supreme Asset (11-7) at Carlisle 2m nov hcp chs (0-125) (3) hvy.
Pinerolo 14-1 (10-13) Led or disputed lead, hit 6th, lost place 5 out, soon no chance with front pair, last of 3, 21l behind Many Clouds (11-5) at Wetherby 2m 4f nov chs (3) sft in Dec.
Harris (IRE) 5-1fav (11-8) Held up in touch, tracked leaders 3 out, driven before next, 4 lengths down in 2nd last, ridden and ran on well, flat, led final stride, won at Catterick 3m 1f hcp hdl 0-110 (4) gd in Dec deadheating with Gulf Punch (11-12), 10 ran.
Son Of Flicka 11-2 (11-0) Tracked leader, not fluent, one pace from last, 2nd of 3, 1 1/2l behind Dungeel (11-0) at Catterick 3m 1f beg chase (4) sft in Jan.
