made virtually all, hit 3 out, pecked and headed briefly 2 out, stayed on gamely
with leader until ridden and weakened approaching 4 out
held up, headway approaching 7th, ridden 12th, went 2nd approaching next, led briefly 2 out, not quicken flat
held up in touch, lost touch 8th, tailed off and pulled up before 12th
prominent, pecked and slipped 1st, 4th when not fluent 6th, blundered 8th, soon ridden, behind when pulled up before 12th
tracked leaders, lost touch 8th, tailed off and pulled up before 12th
behind, went moderate 4th at 8th, well behind when mistake 2 out, pulled up before last
Montreal is a useful hurdler but could be even better over the larger obstacles and is the choice to make the most of a golden opportunity to maintain his unbeaten status over fences after a smooth victory at Exeter last month. The five-year-old jumped well before showing plenty of determination in the finish and will handle the testing conditions so will prove hard to beat. Iverain is closely matched with the selection on hurdling form but had to work hard for his novice win at Wincanton in October and has not impressed with his jumping technique in two subsequent starts. The Paul Nicholls-trained gelding looks worth opposing in the first-time blinkers while Dungarvans Choice looked less than enthusisatic when attempting to run out on his chase debut at Cheltenham and now has something to prove. Ibal scored comfortably last time at Plumpton but had little to beat and more is required here under his penalty.
