tracked leading trio, 3rd at 12th, 2nd next, led and hit 3 out, headed next, stayed on same pace, no chance with winner
held up in last pair, headway chasing leaders 13th, close enough in 3rd when jumped big and awkward on landing 2 out, weakened last
not always fluent and soon off the pace in rear, steady headway on inside and jumped into contention 4 out, soon switched out and headway, went 2nd 3 out, led next, soon clear, stayed on strongly
tracked leading pair, went 2nd 6th until 9th, chased leaders, mistake 11th, pushed along and outpaced before 4 out
led, reached for 10th, joined 4 out, headed approaching and hit next, soon lost 2nd, weakened 2 out
raced on inside, tracked leader until jumped slowly 6th, chased leaders, went 2nd again 9th until 13th, chased leaders, pushed along before 3 out, soon outpaced and struggling, rallied into 3rd last, kept on
Clan Legend has never won beyond 2m4f and will be a teenager in a few weeks' time but he was third over course and distance on his reappearance last season when 3lb higher, though behind Strong Economy later at the track. The latter and Donna's Delight are both previous course and distance winners but GREEN VAULT (NAP) made a winning start to his chase career at Hexham last month and may have a fitness edge over stable companion Buddha Scheme.
Clan Legend 10-1 (11-1) Waited with in rear, headway before 2 out, went 2nd at the last, never any chance with easy winner, 2nd of 6, 16l behind Empire Steel (11-6) at Kelso 2m 6f hcp (2) hvy in Feb.
Dieu Vivant (FR) 125-1 (12-0) Always in rear, 7th of 9, dist behind Vaucelet (12-0) at Stratford 3m 4f (2) gd in May.
Green Vault (IRE) 9-4fav (11-8) Close up, dropped to rear 6th, went 4th 2 out, every chance last, ridden to lead flat, ran on, won at Hexham 3m hcp (4) sft in Oct beating Jet Fighter (10-10) by 3 3/4l, 5 ran.
Strong Economy (IRE) 100-1 (10-0) Prominent, not fluent 3rd and dropped to midfield, towards rear 5th, in rear 6th, lost touch 7th, awkward 8th, ridden after 11th, tailed off when pulled up before 13th, at Ayr 4m hcp (1) gs in Apr.
Donna's Delight (IRE) 9-2 (11-8) Led 1st until 2nd, led 3rd, not fluent 15th, mistake 4 out, headed 2 out, led again flat, headed towards finish, 2nd of 5, 1/2l behind Niceandeasy (11-5) at Ayr 3m hcp (4) sft in Mar.
Buddha Scheme (IRE) 13-2 (11-10) Chased leaders, disputed lead 12th, went clear with one other 5 out, led before 2 out, soon pushed along and went clear before last, ridden run-in, stayed on, always doing enough, won at Kelso 3m 2f hcp (4) hvy in Dec beating Prince Dundee (11-7) by 7l, 6 ran.
