held up, headway 5 out, ridden to lead 2 out, jumped left last, kept on
led, headed 2nd, led again 5th, headed 13th, weakened 5 out
in touch, lost place from behind 8th
mid-division, weakened 5 out
blundered 1st, behind 9th, mistake 12th, brief effort 14th
tracked leaders, led 13th, ridden and headed 2 out, one pace
towards rear, headway 12th, ridden to chase leaders 4 out, stayed on
mid-division, ridden and weakened 4 out
held up, led 2nd, headed 5th, ridden and weakened 13th, tailed off and pulled before 2 out
Nonrunner
Nonrunner
Most of the runners form the yard of Paul Nicholls have looked as though they would come on for their first outing of the season and with his representative here Petit Lord having been a good winner on his return over course and distance there is every right to believe that he will improve for the run and follow up today so he gets the vote ahead of stablemate Geeveem and Team Leader. The last mentioned represents the in-form yard of Nigel Twiston-Davies so lack of a recent run need not be of concern for the seven-year-old but he does need to improve to trouble the selection. Robert Alner also has his string in fine form so Even More has to be respected but he looks a shade high in the weights, while similar comments apply to stablemate Charlies Future. It will be interesting to see how the market shapes for the Paul Nicholls-trained Geeveem but stable companion Petit Lord has solid claims and he is preferred.
Petit Lord (FR) 6-5fav (10-12) Held up, headway 11th, tracked leader 13th, ridden to lead 3 out, kept on, won at Chepstow 3m nov chs (4) gd beating Bengo (10-12) by 5l, 6 ran.
Charlies Future 3-1 (10-12) Led, ridden and headed approaching 4 out, rallied gamely flat, held close home, 2nd of 5, 1/2l behind Howrwenow (11-5) at Exeter 2m 7f hcp chs 0-130 (3) hvy in Feb.
Even More (IRE) 11-1 (11-9) Led until 3rd, chased leader, driven along from 13th, lost touch after 4 out, 4th of 6, well behind Matt The Thrasher (11-9) at Wincanton 3m 1f hcp chs 0-120 (3) gf in May.
So Many Questions (IRE) 9-1 (10-12) Started slowly, held up towards rear, some headway after 7th, no progress from next, 8th of 13, 33l behind Souffleur (10-9) at Bangor 2m 4f nov hdl (4) gd.
Team Leader (IRE) 10-1 (11-3) Chased leaders, slow jump 2nd and reminders, never fluent after, soon behind, 14th of 17, well behind Mikado (11-8) at Ascot 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-120 (3) gd in Dec.
Nelson (FR) 7-1 (10-9) Led, headed and ridden 6th, weakened flat, 4th of 9, 11l behind Magical Wonderland (10-12) at Stratford 2m 6f nov hdl (4) gd in Aug.
Charango Star 40-1 (9-9) Mid-division, ridden and last place 15th, tailed off and pulled up 5 out in race won by Mckelvey (10-10) at Uttoxeter 4m lst hcp chs (1) gf in Jul '06, 15 ran.
Special Conquest 8-1 (11-2) Chased leaders, driven along after 11th, blundered 16th, soon weakened, 3rd of 8, 22l behind Hever Road (11-3) at N Abbot 3m 2f hcp chs 0-120 (3) gf in Apr '06.
Hazeljack 8-1 (10-11) In touch, took closer order after 15th, led approaching 4 out, blundered next, soon headed and one pace after, 4th of 8, 7l behind Strolling Vagabond (10-6) at Fontwell 3m 4f hcp chs 0-105 (4) gd in Mar.
Geeveem (IRE) 5-1 (11-2) Led, blundered 12th and headed, ridden 4 out, weakened 3 out, 3rd of 8, 9l behind Nenuphar Collonges (11-4) at Uttoxeter 3m nov hcp chs (2) sft in Mar.
Notanotherdonkey (IRE) 11-1 (10-0) Jumped left throughout, led until 15th, soon ridden, weakened after 3 out, last of 7, 27l behind Inaro (10-3) at Ascot 3m nov hcp chs (3) gd in Mar.
