held up in last trio, headway to chase leaders approaching 13th, mistake and lost place 17th, pushed along and struggling before 3 out, no chance when blundered 2 out, tailed off
chased leading duo, ridden before 3 out, weakened before next, tailed off
led and disputed, narrowly headed 6th, led again and hit 9th, narrowly headed 12th, led again next, ridden and headed approaching 4 out, soon no chance with leading duo
held up in last pair, steady headway 16th, chased winner 4 out, ridden and stayed on flat, always held
led and disputed, led narrowly 6th, narrowly headed 9th, led 12th until next, led again approaching 4 out, driven and stayed on under pressure flat
chased leaders, not fluent 4th, ridden 11th, weakened when went badly right 16th, pulled up after next
in rear, not fluent, mistake 9th, hit 10th and next, ridden and struggling 15th, tailed off and pulled up before 4 out
A reasonable case can be made for most of these in what's likely to become an attritional contest. Rebel Melody, River Indus and Lavenoak Lad will certainly stay but all prefer more juice underfoot to bring their stamina into play. Although all are shortlisted, ABBEY DORE is just preferred. The eight-year-old is no less than 34lb higher than when scoring at Plumpton just over a year ago, a success that provided the catalyst for four handicap wins in five outings. He may still improve further on the evidence of his latest effort, whilst Lady De La Vega is a massive threat if seeing out the longest trip she's faced to date.
Lady De La Vega (FR) 9-2 (11-9) Tracked leaders, mistake 4th, ridden after 5 out, led narrowly next, headed narrowly 2 out, kept on to press winner and every chance until no extra towards finish, 2nd of 8, 2l behind Theophrastus (11-12) at Exeter 3m nov hcp chs 0-115 (4) gd in Mar.
Rebel Melody (IRE) 15-8fav (11-3) Led, headed after 2nd, tracked leader, with leader 10th, led 13th, headed before 4 out, ridden before next, no impression, 2nd of 5, 17l behind Shammy Buskins (11-12) at Southwell 3m hcp chs 0-115 (4) gd in Mar.
Lavenoak Lad 9-2 (9-10) Tracked leaders, went 2nd 14th until 18th, outpaced 3 out, stayed on flat, 3rd of 7, 2 1/4l behind Justabout (10-1) at Warwick 3m 5f hcp chs 0-125 (3) gd in Mar.
Abbey Dore (IRE) 12-1 (9-13) In touch ridden in held 6th when fell 4 out, in a race won by Ammunition (11-2) at Exeter 3m 6f hcp chs 0-125 (3) gs in Mar, 16 ran.
River Indus 11-1 (9-10) Chased leader, narrow lead 10th, headed before 4 out, one pace in 4th from next, 4th of 16, 21l behind Ammunition (11-2) at Exeter 3m 6f hcp chs 0-125 (3) gs in Mar.
Celian (FR) 8-1 (11-8) Tracked leader, mistake and lost a couple of places 4th, slow and dropped to rear 10th, rallied on outer to chase leaders after 11th, slow 13th, soon ridden, weakened from 3 out, 4th of 7, 36l behind Theophrastus (11-10) at Folkestone 3m 1f hcp chs 0-100 (4) gd in Mar.
Doc Reason (IRE) 25-1 (10-10) Jumped moderately, led until jumped slowly and headed 1st, not fluent next, lost 2nd 4th, dropped to modest 4th at 11th, struggling 4 out, tailed off when pulled up 2 out, in a race won by Kercabellec (9-7) at Huntingdon 3m hcp chs 0-100 (4) gd in Mar, 5 ran.
