made all, mistake 8th, not fluent 13th, all out
held up, headway 10th, ridden after 4 out, weakened before next
held up in 4th, closed 5th, pushed along in last after 7th, reminders 12th, behind from next, tailed off
tracked leaders, went 2nd 3rd, not fluent 14th or 15th, ridden 3 out, not fluent last, rallied flat, closing near finish, just held
tracked winner until 3rd, ridden after 12th, mistake 14th, not fluent next, weakened approaching 3 out, tailed off
Nonrunner
Nearly all of these have a bit to prove on the prevailing ground but DOUBLE CHOCOLATE was second on good to soft at Stratford last time and this longer distance is in his favour. He gets a tentative vote though Nudge And Nurdle is respected after finally taking advantage of a tumbling mark over C&D last month, though he's gone up 7lb since. Cullahill is a proven stayer but would prefer a faster surface while Princely Hero's only recent win came in a selling hurdle. Call At Midnight should have benefited from his comeback run, however, and looks a better bet than Terra Bleu who is 8lb out of the handicap.
Double Chocolate 2-1fav (11-10) Led, jumped right and bumped 1st, ridden and headed approaching last, stayed on same pace, 2nd of 7, 5l behind I'm The Decider (11-1) at Stratford 2m 7f hcp chs 0-115 (4) gs in Aug.
Nudge And Nurdle (IRE) 11-2 (11-10) Tracked leaders, led last, hard driven flat, just prevailed, won at Fontwell 3m 2f hcp chs 0-105 (4) gd in Sep beating Persian Run (11-3) by 1/2l, 8 ran.
Cullahill (IRE) 11-1 (10-13) Tracked leading pair, under pressure when slightly hampered 15th, 4th and outpaced after 4 out, no impression when left 3rd and hampered 2 out, 3rd of 7, 19l behind Sun Tzu (11-12) at Southwell 3m hcp chs 0-120 (4) gd in Jul.
Princely Hero (IRE) 9-2 (10-5) Prominent, led 7th, ridden and headed before next, not fluent 2 out, lost 2nd flat, stayed on same pace, 3rd of 11, 1 3/4l behind Akbabend (11-13) at Fontwell 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-110 (4) gd in Sep.
Terra Bleu (IRE) 8-1 (10-13) Tracked leaders, not fluent 3rd, went 2nd 4 out until not fluent next, stayed on same pace from next, 3rd of 8, 12l behind Zepnove (9-7) at Fontwell 2m 2f hcp chs 0-95 (5) gd in Sep.
Call At Midnight 16-1 (10-13) Keen tracked leader until 8th, close up, weakened 11th, soon behind, pulled up before 2 out, in a race won by Baily Storm (10-8) at Market Rasen 3m 1f hcp chs 0-115 (4) gd in Sep, 9 ran.