held up behind clear leader in 3rd, went 2nd after 9th, hard ridden 2 out, still 12 lengths behind jumping last, stayed under pressure and led final 50 yards, all out
held up 2nd behind clear leader, lost touch from 8th, weakened and tailed off from 3 out
held up last, under pressure from 9th, disp 2nd 2 out, weakened approaching last, soon tailed off
The usual small field for this valuable prize and for the TEAMtalk selection we will look no further than last year's winner Baracouda. The best staying hurdler in the business at present for most judges, he took this on a faster surface 12 months ago, but with plenty of his favoured cut here he cannot be opposed. Landing Light is likely to be his bigger danger. A horse with plenty of ability over two miles, he lost his way in the Spring, but with the yard flying at the moment he should go well first time on ground he relishes. Mr Cool is another decent animal who is likely to set the pace under Tony McCoy, though over this trip he should not be good enough to finish in front of either of the aforementioned pair. He will love the ground, but was thrashed by Rooster Booster at Kempton last time. Carlovent looks to be running for expenses money.
