held up, hampered 1st, headway 5th, joined leaders 3 out, came stands side entering home straight, ridden and weakened approaching last
jumped badly left 1st, behind and mistakes, lost touch 6th, tailed off and pulled up before 2 out
hampered 1st, always behind
held up in rear, hampered 1st, outpaced 3 out, never dangerous
chased leaders until lost place 4 out, soon behind
tracked winner, led 3 out until approaching next, soon ridden, weakened last
mid-division, hampered 1st, mistake 3rd, lost place and behind from 6th, pulled up before last
raced keenly, tracked leaders, outpaced 3 out, ridden and weakened after next
chased leaders until ridden and lost place approaching 3 out
led, headed 3 out, led again approaching next, ridden clear approaching last, stayed on well flat
hampered 1st, saddle slipped after next, pulled up before 4th
hampered 1st, held up in rear when fell 4th
hampered 1st, towards rear, headway under pressure from 3 out, ridden and kept on from next, never troubled leaders
The Allan Swinbank-trained Dark Character sets a bit of a poser as he refused at the third-flight when seemingly having an easy task when put in as the odds-on favourite at Hexham last month and, as such, he has a little to prove regarding his temperament. Therefore Armaguedon is the logical alternative and is given a confident vote to send punters home happy from Catterick after the finale. Supreme Lass is starting to get the hang of things and edges out Breezy Warrior as best of the rest. However, the daughter of Supreme Leader is much more exposed than the selection and looks set for a minor role this afternoon. The fact that the Len Lungo team are just starting to step things up a gear also make the claims of Armaguedon to difficult to ignore and, even though he has to reverse Aintree Champion Bumper form with Dark Character, he is expected to come out of this first test over hurdles with plenty in hand.