mid-division, lost race 5th, soon behind
tracked leaders, led 8th, ridden and headed last, kept on flat, held near finish
held up, not fluent 3rd, headway and in touch 5th, 3rd and no impression went hit last
raced keenly, held up, ridden and effort approaching 3 out, outpaced when 6th, no impression
in touch, reminders and lost place 7th, soon behind
in touch, lost place 7th, soon behind
led to 8th, chased leader until blundered, and lost place 3 out, no impression from next
raced keenly, held up, headway approaching 3 out, went 2nd next, led last, ridden and edged left flat, kept on towards finish
chased leaders, ridden and outpaced 4 out, stayed on under pressure from last, no impression with 1st
Nonrunner
VICTORIAS GROOM looks the one to be with here, while Guns And Butter can prove to be the main danger. The Lucy Wadham-trained selection has been raised 3lbs for a soft ground Doncaster hurdles win over this trip last time, so is clearly on good terms with himself. He also has a course and distance win over the smaller obstacles in the plus column, but he has not yet managed to convert his hurdling abilities to fences. If he can do that now he has renewed confidence then he looks capable of landing this. Guns And Butter has conditions and trip to his liking and was getting the hang of chasing nicely when a staying-on fourth on his Musselburgh debut. He gets on well with Rose Dobbin and can get heavily involved. Kilkenny All Star has not lived up to his name yet, with no wins in nine starts under rules. Even so, he was going well enough when falling at Leicester last time and with a clear round over this shorter trip he'd be entitled to go close. Tarabaloo is lightly raced and open to improvement. Richard Guest's mare should be better for the experience of her chase debut last month, she seems to go on any ground, and this is her sort of trip so in receipt of weight she could go very well. Keen Warrior and Smart Street both have the ability to make their presence felt but are risky betting propositions in view of their jumping, and we prefer the claims of Victorias Groom.
Finnegans Rainbow 66-1 (10-6) Behind, tailed off from 5 out, last of 4, well behind I'msingingtheblues (11-5) at Doncaster 2m nov chs (3) gd.
Guns And Butter (IRE) 15-2 (10-11) Mid-division, close up when blundered 5 out, ridden and one pace from 4 out, 4th of 11, 6l behind Hernando's Boy (10-11) at Musselburgh 2m 4f beg chs (4) gd.
Keen Warrior 150-1 (10-11) Held up when ran out at the 7th in race won by Pop (11-0) at Doncaster 2m 3f beg chs (4) sft, 11 ran.
Kilkenny All Star (IRE) 4-1 (11-2) Held up, headway and chasing leaders when fell 3 out in race won by Kate's Gift (11-2) at Leicester 2m 7f mdn chs (4) sft, 9 ran.
Murphys Beau (IRE) 16-1 (10-13) Mid-division, driven and one pace from 2 out, 5th of 18, 15l behind Run Forest Run (10-9) at Newcastle 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-100 (4) gd in Oct.
Peak Seasons (IRE) 66-1 (10-10) Held up, poor 3rd from 5th, 3rd of 4, well behind I'msingingtheblues (11-5) at Doncaster 2m nov chs (3) gd.
Smart Street 4-1 (11-4) Tracked leaders until fell at the 6th in race won by Go Silver Bullet (11-2) at Musselburgh 2m hcp chs 0-115 (4) gd, 7 ran.
The Randy Bishop 10-1 (11-5) Held up and behind, raced keenly, not fluent 6th, headway when hit next, challenged and going well when mistake and unseated rider 2 out in race won by High Jack (11-3) at Towcester 2m 3f nov hcp chs 0-105 (4) gs in Nov, 7 ran.
Tarabaloo 8-1 (10-12) Keen early, held up in 4th, struggling 6th, weakened 8th, not fluent 4 out, last of 4, well behind Fit To Drive (10-9) at Leicester 2m mrs nov chs (4) gd in Nov.
Victorias Groom (GER) 4-1 (11-10) Led, under pressure 2 out, headed narrowly last, stayed on under pressure to regain lead last 50 yards, all out, won at Doncaster 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) sft beating Smugglers Bay (11-11) by 1l, 14 ran.
