held up, headway, in touch 5 out, outpaced next, soon weakened
held up in touch, ridden 4 out, soon weakened
tracked leader, hit 4th and 9th, lost place next, weakened 5 out, tailed off when pulled up before next
close up on inside, went 2nd 10th, every chance when hit 3 out, led next, ridden, stayed on well flat
led, mistake 10th, headed 2 out, ridden, kept on same pace
mistakes, held up, headway, in touch 5 out, weakened from next
raced keenly, in touch when blundered and unseated rider 7th
Nonrunner
EVER PRESENT is our idea of the winner with King Mak and Robin D Sherwood the dangers. The veteran looked as if need of the race at Aintree and bowed out accordingly as the race built up to a crescendo. Nevertheless, he retains his ability and is proven on the prevailing going. King Mak is more than capable on his day. He regrettably does have problems in making mistakes and this is enough for us to look elsewhere. Robin D Sherwood was sold out of the Paul Nicholls stable for a relatively small sum. The full brother to Exit To Wave has handled this surface adequately enough in the past so needs to be watched in the market. Ormello was set to race at Aintree on Sunday. First Look produced a fair effort at Carlisle. He had been busy on the flat so he should have been fit enough to do himself justice. Tell Henry won well at Wetherby but has gone up in the handicap since. Hush Tiger is an infrequent winner though he handles soft ground. Ever Present is the selection in a race that should present plenty of thrills and spills.
Robin De Sherwood (FR) 11-2 (11-3) Held up, chased leaders 5 out, soon ridden, weakening when blundered 2 out and pulled up 2 out in race won by Merigo (10-0) at Ayr 3m 1f nov hcp chs (2) gd in Apr, 8 ran.
Ever Present (IRE) 6-1 (11-1) Chased leader, weakened after 4 out, lost poor 3rd approaching last, 6th of 8, 42l behind Fundamentalist (11-9) at Aintree 3m 1f hcp chs 0-145 (2) gs in Oct.
King Mak 11-2 (11-6) Led until after 3rd, chased leader and hit next, hit 4 out, kept on same pace after last, 2nd of 8, 2l behind Ruairi (11-9) at Market Rasen 2m 4f nov hcp chs 0-125 (3) gd in Apr.
First Look (FR) 17-2 (11-5) Mid-division, ridden to lead last, driven and no extra flat, 3rd of 11, 4 1/2l behind Malko De Beaumont (10-6) at Carlisle 2m 5f hcp chs 0-125 (3) hvy.
Tell Henry (IRE) 9-2 (11-4) Made most, ridden approaching 2 out, stayed on well flat, won at Wetherby 2m 4f nov hcp chs 0-120 (3) gf beating Star Shot (11-6) by 4l, 9 ran.
Euro American (GER) 25-1 (11-10) Held up, headway 3 out, ridden and kept on same pace from next, never nearer, 7th of 15, 25l behind Nirvana Swing (11-6) at Perth 2m 4f hcp chs 0-125 (3) gd in Apr.
Hush Tiger 16-1 (11-4) Mid-division, struggling 6th, never dangerous after, 7th of 11, 29l behind Glingerbank (10-12) at Carlisle 2m hcp chs 0-125 (3) gs in Oct.
Ormello (FR) 20-1 (11-2) Held up in touch, ridden approaching 2 out, mistake last, lost 3rd flat, 4th of 11, 12l behind Tramantano (11-4) at Aintree 2m hcp chs 0-135 (3) sft in Oct.