held up in rear, not fluent 2nd, blundered 10th, not fluent 11th, mistake 13th, 16 lengths 5th when not fluent 4 out, went 3rd after 3 out, closed from 2 out, 10 lengths down last, stayed on to catch weary rivals and lead towards finish
tracked leader, led after 3rd, headed after 5th, led approaching 12th, not fluent 3 out, headed 2 out, weary when led again flat, headed towards finish
tracked leaders, hit 10th and 11th, soon given reminders, blundered 13th and 4 out, soon well behind
held up, not fluent 2nd, mistake 6th, not happy after, behind when not fluent 8th, pulled up before next
tracked leaders, 3rd and well beaten approaching 3 out, pulled up before next
led until after 3rd, led after 5th, headed approaching 12th, led again 2 out, very weary when edged right and headed flat, no extra
ARCTIC BEN has a bit more experience than some of these but still appears to be heading in the right direction and, though his last two runs have been over shorter, he had no problems with this trip when successful at Warwick in January. He gets the nod in a competitive-looking handicap with Take Of Shoc'S needing to improve again if he's to complete his hat-trick under a penalty in this better grade. Amaury De Lusignan's winning form is all over 2m and he may be in the handicapper's grip now but Back Bob Back has won at Newbury and Chepstow this season, though was well behind the selection at Uttoxeter in December. Mad Moose, Mister Hyde and Qaspal all have ability but have been a bit below par in recent outings.
Mad Moose (IRE) 33-1 (10-1) Held up in rear, hit 8th, headway 10th, ridden approaching 3 out, soon outpaced, 6th and no extra 2 out, 8th of 22, 20l behind Salut Flo (10-10) at Cheltenham 2m 5f hcp chs G3 (1) gd in Mar.
Arctic Ben (IRE) Evensfav (11-10) Made all, not fluent 5th, shaken up and drew clear before last, eased final 100 yards, won at Haydock 2m nov hcp chs 0-120 (4) gs in Mar beating Tahiti Pearl (10-2) by 11l, 3 ran.
Mister Hyde (IRE) 13-2 (11-7) Tracked leaders, went 2nd approaching 5th until 4 out, weakened before next, tailed off, 7th of 9, well behind Lackamon (11-12) at Uttoxeter 3m nov hcp chs (3) gs in Mar.
Qaspal (FR) 2-1 (10-12) Held up, headway when blunderd 8th, soon lost place, hit next, behind after, went 4th close home, tailed off, 4th of 7, well behind Darna (11-5) at Exeter 2m 3f nov chs (3) gd in Mar.
Back Bob Back (IRE) 3-1 (11-10) Tracked leader, with leader 6th, led 7th, clear from 2 out, pressed after last, held on well towards finish, won at Chepstow 2m 3f hcp chs 0-115 (4) gs in Mar beating Relax (12-5) by 2l, 7 ran.
Take Of Shoc's (IRE) 11-8fav (11-2) Made all, drew clear from 7th, stayed on well, eased flat, easily, won at Chepstow 2m hcp chs 0-115 (4) sft beating Kack Handed (11-8) by 15l, 5 ran.
Amaury De Lusignan (IRE) 7-4fav (12-1) Tracked leader, ridden 4 out, no impression on leader and lost 2nd approaching last, 3rd of 5, 11l behind Park Lane (10-3) at Kempton 2m nov hcp chs 0-130 (3) gd in Mar.
