jumped boldly, made all and set decent pace, pushed along and pressed when left clear 4 out, jumped right final 3, ridden between last 2, driven and kept on gamely run-in, all out
took keen hold, tracked winner, upsides, travelling strongly when crumpled on landing and unseated rider 4 out
held up in 4th place, dropped to last before 5th, tailed off when pulled up before 7th
tracked clear leading pair, trying to close when left 2nd 4 out, pushed along before 2 out, stayed on under pressure run-in but never able to challenge
raced wide, held up last, went 4th at 5th, trying to close when left 3rd 4 out, outpaced after next, not fluent 2 out
BARON ALCO won over a longer trip here before finishing second at Cheltenham in a tougher contest than this. He gets the vote ahead of a couple of promising sorts in Laissez Dire and Starchitect. The former made a winning start over fences when landing the odds at Catterick but this will be more of a test while the latter was at his best over hurdles on faster ground and could only manage third at Bangor on his chasing bow. Solatentif is a decent hurdler and goes chasing for the first time but Grayhawk looks up against it.
Baron Alco (FR) 7-1 (11-5) Led, not fluent 4 out, driven after 2 out, joined last, soon headed, stayed on but no impression on winner towards finish, 2nd of 6, 2 1/2l behind Whisper (11-0) at Cheltenham 2m 5f (2) gs in Dec.
Laissez Dire (FR) 5-6fav (10-8) Raced freely, jumped well, tracked leader, led before 4th, clear from 3 out, impressive, won at Catterick 2m 3f (4) gd in Nov beating Work In Progress (11-2) by 4l, 4 ran.
Grayhawk (IRE) 66-1 (10-13) Tracked leaders, stumbled 2nd, outpaced 8th, well beaten 3 out, last of 3, dist behind Theinval (11-4) at Plumpton 2m 1f (3) gs in Dec.
Solatentif (FR) 7-2fav (11-12) Mid-division, headway 3 out, went 2nd before next until approaching last, no extra flat, 6th of 13, 11 3/4l behind Kapstadt (11-5) at Cheltenham 2m 1f hcp (3) gd in Dec.
Starchitect (IRE) 11-4 (10-13) Tracked leaders, driven to chase front pair 2 out, 2 lengths down in 3rd when blundered last, well held flat, 3rd of 7, 9 1/2l behind A Hare Breath (10-13) at Bangor 2m 1f (4) sft in Dec.
