led, hung left approaching 6th, headed 3 out, ridden, one pace from 2 out
held up, headway 3rd, every chance 3 out, soon ridden, 3rd, weakening when refused last
prominent, mistake 2nd, mistake, unseated rider 8th
prominent, jumped left, hit 2nd, lost place 4th, behind when mistake 10th, left 3rd last
held up, headway 8th, led 3 out, clear last, comfortably
prominent, pushed along 10th, weakened approaching 4 out, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out
mid-division, headway 6th, blundered, unseated rider 7th
held up, headway 8th, ridden approaching 4 out, soon weakened
behind, blundered badly, unseated rider 4th
A competitive Hunters Chase with Raregem, Cloudy Bay Boy, Fizzical Fizz and To The Top all worthy of respect but the vote goes to the last named. Having won between the flags twice already this season To The Top has fitness very much on his side as most of his rivals are having their seasonal reappearances. Raregem was in the process of running a fine race at the back end of last season when coming to grief three out when in contention in a Championship race at Wetherby. But he has had jumping problems in the past and it has let him down too. Cloudy Bay Boy and Fizzical Fizz come from yards that clear up in these events and are therefore both worth noting in the betting market. But for the winner we return to To The Top.
Bill Haze 6-4 (12-0) 2nd of 3, 10l behind Silver Castle (12-0) at Bonvilston 3m ptp gd in May '04.
Cloudy Bay Boy (12-5) Beaten when unseated rider last, remounted, distance behind The Noble Roman (12-5) at Higham 3m pt-to-pt gd-frm in Jan, 6 ran.
Ikemba (IRE) 11-10fav (12-0) won at Eaton Hall 3m ptp sft in Apr beating Joe Brown (11-7) by 6l, 6 ran.
Nailed On 3-1 (12-0) won at Dunthrop 2m 4f ptp gd in Jan beating Cappacurry (12-0) by 4l, 9 ran.
Raregem 33-1 (11-7) Held up in rear, not fluent 8th, headway 5 out, close up when fell 4 out in race won by Lord Beau (11-7) at Stratford 3m 4f nov hts chs (H) gd in May, 16 ran.
River Dante (IRE) 20-1 (11-0) Tracked leader, ridden 8th, no impression, 4th of 9, 19l behind Dawton (11-0) at N Abbot 2m beg chs (E) gf in Jul.
The Vintage Dancer (IRE) 16-1 (12-5) 3rd of 13, 11l behind Rhythm King (12-5) at Cottenham 3m ptp gf in Jan.
Fizzical Fizz 4-1 (11-9) won at Detling 3m ptp gd in Apr beating Luteur Des Pictons (12-0) by 5l, 14 ran.
Midnight Arrival 20-1 (11-7) 8th of 12, 39l behind Itzacliche (12-0) at Dunthrop 3m ptp gd in Jan.
To The Top 7-4 (12-5) won at Tweseldown 3m ptp gd beating Simply The One (12-5) by 15l, 6 ran.
