prominent, joined leader 6th, weakened quickly 11th
held up, headway approaching 12th, outpaced 3 out, stayed on flat
held up towards rear, hampered 1st, not jumped well, weakened after 11th
tracked leaders, ridden and effort after 3 out, weakened next
held up in touch, ridden approaching 2 out, led last, ran on
held up, struggling after 8th, soon beaten
held up, ridden 9th, soon weakened, pulled up before 2 out
held up when fell 1st
held up in touch, mistake 8th, weakened before 4 out
led, joined after 6th, headed 2 out, kept on same pace
held on mid-division, under pressure 4 out, soon beaten
mid-division, struggling 9th, soon beaten
held up, headway 12th, ridden to lead 2 out, headed and not fluent last, weakened flat
held up, headway 10th, weakened before 3 out
The vote here goes to First de la Brunie ahead of Longstone Loch and Woodenbridge Dream. First de la Brunie looks well-weighted based on his recent Wincanton romp and, from an in-form yard, looks set to run a big race again today. Woodenbridge Dream is the sole course and distance winner in the line-up, although Standing Bloom has won here. Both hold claims. Assumetheposition's Wetherby second to Jimmy Bond last time affords him a shout, as does Longstone Loch's chasing debut win at Doncaster. Tipp Top has been held since his revised winning mark, while Flying Patriarch's mark is reasonable enough, and he might bag some money. Watch the betting with regard to Paul Webber's Spinaround. The lightly-raced Gerrard is no forlorn hope on his best pieces of form, while Corroboree looked decent two years ago and should at least be fit following two recent runs. If at his best, Umbrella Man cannot be ruled out, and Lubinas is nine pounds below his best hurdling win, and he's shown enough to warrant some kind of mention. For the selection, though, we will stick with First de la Brunie.
Corroboree (IRE) 7-1 (11-6) Led to 8th, weakened 3 out, 5th of 7, 31l behind Jimmy Bond (10-2) at Wetherby 2m 4f nov hcp chs 0-110 (D) sft in Dec.
Umbrella Man (IRE) 5-1 (11-1) Slipped on landing 3rd, in touch, ridden after 4 out, weakened next, 5th of 9, 18l behind Alcatras (9-11) at Fontwell 2m 6f hcp chs 0-110 (E) gd in Dec.
Follow Your Heart (IRE) 8-1 (11-0) Prominent, every chance 3 out, soon ridden, weakened approaching last, 6th of 14, 18l behind Kaldouas (11-0) at Windsor 2m 4f nh mdn hdl (E) gs in Dec.
Patriarch (IRE) 20-1 (11-6) Held up, headway halfway, weakened 14th, 5th of 9, well behind Basilea Star (11-6) at Warwick 3m 2f beg chs (E) sft in Dec.
Lubinas (IRE) 5-1 (11-1) Mid-division, jumped left first, effort 10th, weakened next, 6th of 12, 20l behind Lost In Normandy (10-0) at Bangor 2m 4f hcp chs 0-105 (E) hvy in Dec.
Standing Bloom 12-1 (10-11) Held up in touch, chased winner 8th until approaching 14th, soon one pace, 3rd of 8, 9l behind Reverse Swing (10-0) at Fakenham 3m hcp chs 0-115 (D) gd in Dec.
First De La Brunie (FR) 11-2 (10-5) Chased leaders, joined leader after 4 out, led after 3 out, stayed on well, won at Wincanton 2m 5f hcp chs (4) sft beating Sargasso Sea (11-12) by 8l, 12 ran.
Assumetheposition (FR) 9-1 (10-6) Tracked leaders, led 8th, ridden and headed 3 out, one pace, 2nd of 7, 5l behind Jimmy Bond (10-2) at Wetherby 2m 4f nov hcp chs 0-110 (D) sft in Dec.
Longstone Loch (IRE) 10-1 (11-0) Held up in touch, headway 4th, led approaching 3 out, ridden out, won at Doncaster 2m 3f hcp chs 0-100 (F) gd in Mar '04 beating Freteval (10-4) by 2 1/2l, 11 ran.
Woodenbridge Dream (IRE) 6-1 (10-9) held up, effort 2 out, left in lead and blundered last, not recover, 2nd of 9, 9l behind Jupon Vert (11-1) at Huntingdon 2m hcp chs 0-105 (E) gd in Dec.
Tipp Top (IRE) 8-1 (10-4) Held up in touch, lost place 8th, behind when pulled up 3 out in race won by Lindsay (11-4) at Doncaster 2m 3f hcp chs 0-110 (E) gd in Dec, 8 ran.
Flying Patriarch 7-1 (10-7) Led to 4th, chased leader until reminders next, driven and stayed on from 2 out, went 2nd last, kept on under pressure run-in, 2nd of 6, 3l behind Smart Cavalier (11-2) at Folkestone 2m mdn chs (4) sft.
Spinaround 5-2fav (10-7) Held up in touch, close 5th when blundered and unseated rider 4 out in race won by Magico (11-1) at Leicester 2m nov hcp chs 0-105 (E) gd in Dec, 6 ran.
Gerrard (IRE) 4-1 (9-11) Mid-division when blundered 1st, headway 4th, in 4th and ridden when fell at the 9th in race won by Yassar (11-2) at Towcester 2m 3f sll hcp chs 0-100 (F) gs in Dec, 9 ran.
