held up in last, ballooned 1st and landed awkwardly, closed from 9th, 3rd and beaten when tired jump 2 out, pulled up before last
led 2nd, headed 4th, mistake 4 out, weakened 3 out, well behind in last when jumped badly right 2 out, left 3rd last
raced freely, prominent, led 4th, clear 8th until before 4 out where mistake, clear again 3 out, still 4 lengths ahead 2 out, hung right flat, headed towards finish
led until 2nd, chased leaders, went 2nd after 4 out, hit 3 out, closed and 4 lengths down 2 out, stayed on flat, led towards finish
NonRunner
NonRunner
The mare Put The Kettle On finished well ahead of ROUGE VIF when causing an upset in the Arkle here in March but the latter had excuses that day and it was hard not be impressed by the manner in which he put some useful handicappers to the sword here on his reappearance. That run suggests he’s improved massively over the summer and Harry Whitington’s six-year-old may have a fitness advantage over these. Defi Du Seuil won this last year and was odds-on for the Champion Chase here in March but ran a lifeless race. He remains a very smart two-miler, however, and makes more appeal than Riders Onthe Storm, Duc Des Genievres and Forest Bihan.
Defi Du Seuil (FR) 2-5fav (11-10) Held up in touch on outside, rider lost right iron briefly 4 out, close enough 3 out, soon pushed along and beaten, well held when landed awkwardly last, closed on 3rd towards finish, 4th of 5, 13 1/4l behind Politologue (11-10) at Cheltenham 2m (1) sft in Mar.
Riders Onthe Storm (IRE) 11-1 (11-10) Held up in touch in last trio, switched towards outside before 8th, headway and close up when fell 3 out, at Cheltenham 2m 5f (1) sft in Mar.
Duc Des Genievres (FR) 18-1 (11-10) Held up in touch in last trio, headway 3 out, chased leaders on outside turning in, no extra before 2 out, ridden and no impression between last 2, 5th of 8, 15l behind Min (11-10) at Cheltenham 2m 5f (1) sft in Mar.
Put The Kettle On (IRE) 16-1 (10-11) Prominent, led after 2nd, headed next, led 4th until before 5th, led again 3 out, pressed 2 out, 2 1/2 lengths ahead last, edged slightly right flat and then slightly left, stayed on gamely and holding 2nd towards finish, won at Cheltenham 2m (1) sft in Mar beating Fakir D'Oudairies (11-4) by 1 1/2l, 11 ran.
Forest Bihan (FR) 9-2 (10-4) Held up in close touch, went 3rd at 9th (normal 4 out), led on inside bypassing omitted last, quickened readily clear, won at Aintree 2m 4f hcp (1) sft in Oct beating Kalashnikov (10-10) by 2 3/4l, 5 ran.
Rouge Vif (FR) 5-1 (11-7) Tracked leader, niggled along to lead before 3 out, good jump 2 out and last, stayed on strongly run in, won at Cheltenham 2m hcp (2) gd in Oct beating Western Miller (10-4) by 7 1/2l, 13 ran.
