led, headed approaching 5th, remained prominent, mistake 10th, weakening when crumpled on landing 3 out, soon pulled up
always in rear, jumped slowly 7th, soon behind, tailed off when pulled up before 4 out
held up towards rear, not fluent 6th or 8th, headway when hampered 11th, mistake 4 out, close 3rd when hit 2 out, beaten after last, stayed on same pace
mid-division, headway after 5th, outpaced when hit 3 out, rallied last, stayed on well flat to go 2nd final 100yds, closed on winner, no impression
prominent, pressed winner from 5th, hampered 11th, still challenging 3 out, beaten last, one pace
took keen hold, prominent, fluent 3rd, led approaching 5th, jumped right and mistake 4 out, hit 2 out, driven to assert flat, stayed on
took keen hold in mid-division, headway 4th, chased winner 2 out, no impression flat and lost 2nd final 100yds, no extra
mid-division, dropped rear 7th, weakened 4 out
not always fluent, held up in rear, stayed on approaching 2 out, never reach leaders, no impression last
held up towards rear, headway after 5th, mistake 7th, soon lost place, well beaten 3 out
tracked leaders, jumped slowly 6th, mistake next, hampered 11th, hit 3 out, soon weakened
A decent novices' handicap chase, where SILMI is just preferred to Rivaliste, while Like A Duke is among a number of others with claims. The selection comes from a stable whose horses are running up to their best, which augurs well for this dual novices' chase scorer. The five-year-old Daylami gelding will have no complaints over the going, stays at least this far, jumps well, and can go well fresh, so the four month break should not be an issue. We can put a line through his last effort in a Listed hurdle and hope for a return to his form of the spring. The bookies are unlikely to take a chance with Rivaliste, who represents the champion trainer, who has had plenty of success with runners of this profile. All of the gelding's racing so far has taken place in France, where he handled cut well, and he also ran away with a chase at Compiegne when last seen in May. He will be well prepared and looks sure to go close. Otage De Brion has had a couple of previous attempts over fences that did not give much encouragement, and he would prefer better ground, and a bigger threat looks to be Ajzal, a soft ground Wincanton hurdling winner who was travelling well enough when unseating early on his chasing debut at Exeter. Like A Duke romped away with a moderate Warwick handicap chase over 2m 5f earlier in the month and handles juice in the ground, so with the yard still going well he is respected from an 11lbs higher mark. Lightly-raced Ikorodu Road has a bit to prove on his chasing introduction, after disappointing when favourite over the smaller obstacles last month, while Costa Courta can learn from his mistake at Exeter and should do better. A competitive contest can just go to Silmi.
Otage De Brion (FR) 28-1 (11-9) Raced keenly, pressed leader until approaching 4th, stayed second, led 8th, jumped slightly left 2 out, headed last, no extra flat, 3rd of 7, 6l behind Rathcor (11-5) at Towcester 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-125 (3) gs.
Ajzal (IRE) 25-1 (11-1) In touch, not fluent 3rd, blundered and unseated rider 4th, in a race won by Take The Breeze (11-1) at Exeter 2m 1f beg chs (4) sft, 11 ran.
Silmi 11-1 (10-1) Always in rear, lost touch after 6th, tailed off, last of 13, well behind Cootehill (10-0) at Market Rasen 2m 1f lst hcp hdl (0-150) (1) gd in Jul.
Ikorodu Road 9-4fav (10-12) Mid-division, headway 6th, not fluent 7th, weakened last, 5th of 10, 8l behind Presque Perdre (10-4) at Haydock 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-135 (3) gd in Oct.
Princeful (FR) 7-1 (11-9) Tracked leader, weakened 2f out, blundered last, 5th of 10, 20l behind Toshi (11-2) at Bangor 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-135 (3) gd in May.
Rivaliste (FR) (10-5) won at Compiegne(FR) 2m 1f chs sft in May beating Pour Toi Danton (10-5) by 6l, 16 ran.
Bob's Dream (IRE) 5-2fav (10-13) Held up, headway 7th, left 2nd next, led before last, ridden and hard pressed flat, stayed on well towards finish, won at Kelso 2m 1f hcp chs 0-115 (4) gs beating I'm Delilah (11-7) by 1 1/4l, 9 ran.
Costa Courta (FR) 66-1 (11-1) Mid-division, 5th and in touch when fell 6th, in a race won by Take The Breeze (11-1) at Exeter 2m 1f beg chs (4) sft, 11 ran.
Signs of Love (FR) 16-1 (11-0) Always in rear, well behind when mistake 4 out, tailed off, last of 8, well behind Cruchain (11-0) at Worcester 2m 4f beg chase (4) sft in Jun.
Ouragan Lagrange (FR) 10-1 (11-9) Blundered and unseated rider 1st, in a race won by Midnight Haze (11-4) at Kempton 2m 4f nov hcp chs 0-110 (4) gd, 10 ran.
Freddie The Third (IRE) 11-2 (11-3) Led 4th until before 6th, chased winner to 3 out, soon beaten, 3rd of 7, 33l behind Mocho (10-9) at Chepstow 2m 3f nov hcp chs 0-115 (4) sft in Oct.
Like A Duke (FR) 16-1 (11-12) Took keen hold, held up in rear, steady headway from 11th, tracked leaders going well 4 out, hit 3 out, led going well 2 out, in command when hit last, eased near finish, won at Warwick 2m 4f hcp chs 0-110 (4) gd beating Red Jester (11-3) by 9l, 10 ran.
