slight lead but pressed, headed 7th, soon ridden and lost place before next, no chance when blundered last
held up in 5th, headway to 3rd place at 5th, went 2nd 5 out, led soon after 4 out, clear from 3 out, easily
chased leaders, weakened 6th, tailed off
chased leading pair until slow at 5th, soon pushed along, rallied to chase winner before 5, stayed in 3rd, chased winner before 3 out, no impression soon after, mistake last
presesed leader, led 7th, blundered and headed 4 out, lost 2nd before next, stayed on same pace in 3rd
in rear, blundered 2nd, mistake and pulled up after next
held up in last pair, pushed along in 4th before 5 out, soon outpaced and no chance with leading trio
Tataniano won this last year by eight lengths. He wasn't seen again but is only 3lb higher this time around and should take all the beating again. However, he has to give 19lb to KUMBESHWAR who may just come out on top. Alan King's charge probably didn't win as often as he should of last season but ran some cracking races in defeat, including a third in the Grand Annual at the Cheltenham Festival in March when Oiseau De Nuit failed to finish. Colin Tizzard's 10-year-old was also behind at Aintree subsequently. The others have a bit to prove at present with West With The Wind better when conceding weight to inferior rivals.
Tataniano (FR) 5-2fav (11-7) Led, challenged 3 out, quickened clear next, pushed out, impressive, won at Chepstow 2m hcp chs (2) gd in Oct '11 beating Nomecheki (10-0) by 8l, 6 ran.
Oiseau de Nuit (FR) 10-1 (11-2) Mid-division, headway on wide outside entering straight, outpaced 3 out, weakened after next, 6th of 13, 29l behind Edgardo Sol (11-0) at Aintree 2m hcp chs G3 (1) gs in Apr.
West With The Wind 40-1 (11-12) Prominent early, tracked leaders, lost place after 2nd, behind when not fluent 5th, 13th of 14, well behind Smalib Monterg (10-2) at Stratford 2m hcp hdl (2) gd in Sep.
Kumbeshwar 6-1 (11-3) Led, mistake 4 out, strongly pressed and joined next, headed 2 out and soon driven along in 3rd, dropped to 5th when fell heavily last, in a race won by Lucky William (11-10) at Punchestown 2m nov chs G1 hvy in Apr, 7 ran.
Renard (FR) 12-1 (11-12) Tracked leaders, ridden after 8th, soon lost place, behind 11th, pulled up before 4 out, in a race won by Auroras Encore (11-2) at Haydock 2m 4f hcp chs (2) gd in Apr, 13 ran.
Tail of The Bank (IRE) 8-1 (10-10) Raced wide, held up towards rear, headway 10th, went 4th 2 out, strong run flat, went 2nd final 110 yards and closed on all out winner close home, 2nd of 15, 1/2l behind Fine Parchment (10-4) at Newbury 2m 4f hcp chs G3 (1) gs in Mar '11.
Oldrik (GER) 14-1 (11-0) Held up, well beaten after 4 out, tailed off, 6th of 8, well behind Marodima (11-5) at Fontwell 2m 2f hcp chs 0-145 (2) gs.
