in touch on inside, lost place 10th, soon behind and struggling, tailed off 3 out
slowly away, held up and behind, headway chasing leaders 6th, went 2nd next, led 9th, ridden and headed approaching 2 out, soon no chance with easy winner, weakened and lost places before pulled up last
led until 9th, chased leader until 12th, chased leaders, lost 3rd after 3 out, weakened before next
last pair, pushed along and struggling in 6th after 3 out, rallied approaching next, 3rd before the last, never nearer but never any chance with impressive winner
chased leaders on inside, weakened and lost place 13th, soon behind, tailed off when blundered 3 out, soon pulled up
chased leader until 7th, chased leaders, outpaced 3 out, went modest 4th before the last
chased leading pair, 2nd 12th, led approaching 2 out, soon clear, impressive
held up in touch, headway on outside chasing leaders 13th, 3rd after 3 out, went 2nd before the last, never any chance with impressive winner
last pair, never involved, tailed off and pulled up before the last
Smad Place has mainly raced over longer trips in the past couple of seasons but is perfectly capable of winning at this distance as he showed when landing an Aintree Grade 2 last month. Josses Hill won the Grade 2 Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon in December having had a previous run and that could be his target again as he hasn't run since April. His stable look to have a better chance with Scilly Isles winner and JLT runner-up TOP NOTCH, who had a recent run over hurdles to sharpen him up and should be spot-on for this. He finished behind Flying Angel in the Grade 1 Manifesto in April, when Frodon was a long way behind, but the winner has failed to fire in two subsequent starts. Top Gamble could prove the main threat. A triple winner in this grade, he ran a fine race in the Champion Chase at Cheltenham and competed at the highest level for most of the last campaign.
Josses Hill (IRE) 7-2 (11-10) Jumped slowly 1st and 2nd, led narrowly before next, headed 15th (water), outpaced before 3 out, soon no chance with winner, lost 2nd after next, well beaten, 3rd of 6, 20 1/2l behind Menorah (11-10) at Sandown 2m 7f (1) gd in Apr.
Royal Regatta (IRE) 28-1 (10-12) Led, headed 3 out, weakened next, behind when pulled up before last, at Aintree 2m 4f hcp (1) gs in Oct.
Smad Place (FR) 12-1 (11-3) Tracked leader, led 3 out, ridden when strongly pressed after next, stayed on gamely under pressure from last, held on towards finish, won at Aintree 2m 4f hcp (1) gs in Oct beating Cloudy Dream (10-13) by 3/4l, 12 ran.
Frodon (FR) 16-1 (11-7) Led to after 13th, chased winner, outpaced before 2 out, no chance after, ridden and kept on when hard pressed for modest 2nd flat, 2nd of 4, 8l behind Might Bite (11-7) at Sandown 3m lst (1) gs in Nov.
Sizing Granite (IRE) 14-1 (11-11) Chased leaders early, soon towards rear, badly hampered 7th, never able to recover, pulled up before 5 out, at Chepstow 2m 3f hcp (2) gd in Oct.
Flying Angel (IRE) 9-2 (11-10) Held up in last pair, pushed along after 9th, closed next, outpaced after 11th, weakened 4 out, last of 5, 31 1/2l behind Black Corton (10-8) at Newton Abbot 2m 5f (2) gd in Oct.
Top Notch (FR) 5-4 (10-12) Led, joined after 3 out, headed narrowly after 2 out, ridden and beaten 3rd final 150 yards, last of 3, 3l behind Unowhatimeanharry (11-6) at Aintree 2m 4f (2) sft in Nov.
Double Shuffle (IRE) 7-1 (11-5) Chased leaders, 2nd at 3rd, pushed along before 4 out, lost 2nd before 3 out, 2nd again at the last, no chance with winner, 2nd of 9, 7l behind Romain De Senam (10-1) at Chepstow 2m 3f hcp (2) gd in Oct.
Top Gamble (IRE) 10-1 (11-7) Held up towards rear, last before 5th, closed on outside approaching 9th, outpaced after 4 out, well held from next, 6th of 9, 24 1/2l behind Fox Norton (11-7) at Aintree 2m 4f (1) gd in Apr.
