held up, headway on inside approaching 2 out, no further progress
led, not fluent 5th, jumped right 7th, headed 3 out, soon ridden, weakened after 2 out
held up in touch, pushed along approaching 3 out, 5th and staying on when stumbled on landing 2 out, not recover
tracked leaders, led approaching last, ran on strongly flat
took keen hold, chased leader 3rd, bumped 7th, mistake 10th, led 3 out, headed and beaten when mistake last, no extra and lost 2nd flat
held up towards rear, hit 8th, headway 2 out, stayed on same pace, not trouble leaders
chased leader to 3rd, prominent, pushed along approaching 3 out, stayed on approaching last, went 2nd flat, not trouble winner
held up, not fluent 4th, lost touch 11th, tailed off when pulled up before 4 out
mid-division, not fluent 3rd or 5th, lost place approaching 8th, weakened 4 out, tailed off when pulled up approaching last
Garde Champetre can prove the best of Jonjo O'Neill's pair and is taken to repel the Irish challenge of Tumbling Dice and Doctor Linton, with Lough Derg best of the rest. Garde Champetre was a very useful hurdler two seasons ago, filling the frame behind the likes of Lingo and Rhinestone Cowboy before finishing a respectable fifth to Brave Inca in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle. He went on to claim the scalp of Monet's Garden in a Grade 2 contest at Aintree that April, but was put away afterwards with a career over fences in mind. He returned after a 578-day break to finish second to Cerium on his chase debut at Worcester 12 days ago when he quite predictably looked a bit rusty. He will strip a lot fitter now and will hopefully jump better as well as he bids to cement his claims for next year's Festival in which he has the option of either the Arkle, or as seems more likely, the Royal & SunAlliance Novices' Chase, as stamina is his strong suit. On a line through Monet's Garden, Tumbling Dice appears held by the selection, but that was over hurdles and this relative of Remmitance Man did nothing wrong on his chase bow at Cork. Doctor Linton beat subsequent winner Kerryhead Windfarm at Limerick but ran a better race in defeat when second to the highly-rated Justified at Punchestown and should make his presence felt as well. Martin Pipe had a host of entries and relies on Lough Derg who will be making his seventh appearance here but his first over fences. Whether he is good enough to emulate last year's winner Vodka Bleu is open to question, and in any case Garde Champetre is much preferred.
Doctor Linton (IRE) 2-1 (11-6) Tracked leaders, 3rd before halfway, improved into 2nd 5 out, no impression after 3 out, kept on without troubling winner, 2nd of 7, 9l behind Justified (11-2) at Punchestown 2m 2f lst nov chs gd in Oct.
Flying Spirit (IRE) 14-1 (11-10) Made all, ridden 2 out, joined last, driven and stayed on flat, won at Cheltenham 2m nov chs (C) gd in Oct beating Bold Bishop (11-4) by 1 1/2l, 7 ran.
Tumbling Dice (IRE) 7-4fav (11-5) Always prominent, led from 6 out, travelling best from 4 out, stayed on well straight, easily, won at Cork 2m 4f nov chs gs in Oct beating Calorando (10-12) by 2l, 18 ran.
Crozan (FR) (10-6) Prominent, disputed lead from last, no extra close home, 2nd of 10, shd behind Ma Royale (9-11) at Auteuil 2m 2f chs sft in Mar.
Exotic Dancer (FR) 9-2 (11-4) Held up in touch, mistake 6th, effort 4 out, one pace from next, 3rd of 5, 2 1/2l behind Baby Run (11-4) at Aintree 2m lst nov chs (A) gs in Oct.
Garde Champetre (FR) 6-4 (11-4) Mid-division, headway 6th, chased leaders from 7th, hit next, ridden 3 out, hit 2 out, kept on, 2nd of 7, 1l behind Cerium (10-5) at Warwick 2m nov chs (C) gd in Oct.
Lough Derg (FR) 14-1 (11-12) In touch, outpaced by leading pair after 2 out, stayed on under pressure to challenge last, driven to lead flat, won at Cheltenham 2m 5f hcp hdl (B) gd in Apr beating Unleash (11-7) by 2 1/2l, 11 ran.
Take A Drop (IRE) 20-1 (9-7) Prominent, 3rd when fell at the 4th in race won by Kentucky Charm (11-8) at Galway 2m 6f hcp hdl gf in Jul, 18 ran.
Yardbird (IRE) 6-4fav (11-7) Tracked leaders, left in lead 3 out, stayed on well, ridden out, won at Exeter 2m 6f nh nov hdl (E) gf in Apr '04 beating On Les Aura (11-0) by 3 1/2l, 13 ran.
