led, ridden after 3 out, narrowly headed when left in lead 2 out, clear, hit last, driven out
held up in rear, headway approaching 7th, left 2nd, slightly hampered 2 out, no impression on winner
mid-division, lost place approaching 6th, no danger after
raced keenly, chased leader until after 3rd, jumped right 4th, lost place 6th, soon beaten
pulled hard, held up towards rear, headway when not fluent 5th, ridden approaching 3 out, soon beaten
always behind, no chance 7th, tailed off when jumped slowly and left 3 out, soon pulled up
chased leaders, jumped slowly 6th, soon struggling
held up in touch, went 2nd after 3rd, every chance 3 out, beaten when left 3rd, mistake 2 out, jumped right last
held up in rear, headway 6th, challenged going well 3 out, slight lead when fell 2 out
Calusa Caldera can defy a penalty at the expense of Lord Appellare, with Pumboo and Spiritwind worth a small mention. Although saddled with a 7lb penalty here for his recent course-and-distance victory, Calusa Caldera looks the obvious choice, especially as he will come on for that confidence-boosting victory, which came despite an early stumble. His jumping improved as the race went on, and Brendan Powell's charge only needs to repeat that effort to take a big hand in the finish again. His main rival appears to be Lord Appellare who showed enough in bumpers to suggest that he will make a more than useful hurdler, especially over today's sort of trip. He has been absent since May though, and will benefit from the experience. He makes more appeal than fellow hurdles debutante Pumboo, and of the rest, Spiritwind has plenty to find with the selection on last-time-out running. All in all, this looks safely left to Calusa Caldera.
Calusa Caldera (IRE) 18-1 (10-12) In touch, stumbled 2nd, went 2nd after 7th, stayed on under pressure flat to lead near finish, won at Huntingdon 2m 4f nov hdl (4) gd in Oct beating Prince De Bersy (11-5) by a hd, 10 ran.
Andorran (GER) 33-1 (11-0) Mid-division, outpaced 3 out, weakened next, 8th of 13, 27l behind Plemont Bay (11-0) at Sedgefield 2m 1f 4yo mdn hdl (4) gf in Apr.
Himba 50-1 (10-11) Held up, effort 7th, weakened next, tailed off when pulled up 2 out in race won by Hennessy (11-4) at Lingfield 2m 7f nov hdl (4) sft in Oct, 12 ran.
Lord Appellare (IRE) 3-1fav (11-4) Mid-division, ridden and weakened over 2f out, 4th of 13, 29l behind Aya (10-11) at Plumpton 2m 2f nhf (6) gd in May.
Magic Amigo 3-1 (11-2) Held up towards rear, chased leaders approaching 2 out, one pace, 4th of 9, 8l behind Commanche Sioux (10-1) at Market Rasen 2m 1f nov hdl (4) hvy in Mar '06.
Pumboo (FR) 28-1 (11-0) Held up in rear, ridden 3f out, never on terms, 7th of 12, 38l behind Knockavilla (11-0) at Carlisle 2m 1f nhf (6) gd in Oct.
Spiritwind (IRE) 100-1 (10-12) Mid-division, not fluent 6th, struggling before 3 out, went moderate 3rd approaching 2 out, 3rd of 10, 26l behind Calusa Caldera (10-12) at Huntingdon 2m 4f nov hdl (4) gd in Oct.
Aimigayle 16-1 (10-13) Chased leaders until weakened 4f out, 10th of 18, 33l behind I'm Delilah (11-0) at Cheltenham 2m 1f mrs nhf (4) gd in Apr.
Lady Pilot 9-2 (9-7) Keen, held up, headway on outside 8f out to track leaders, ridden to lead over 1f out, stayed on, won at Southwell 1m 6f hcp 0-65 (6) fbs in Apr beating They All Laughed (8-9) by 3/4l, 13 ran (Flat).
