held up towards rear, behind from 11th
with leaders until not fluent 7th, stayed handy, lost place 11th, plugged on flat, no impression
led until 9th, ridden before 4 out, one pace 3 out, stayed on flat
prominent, led 9th until after 11th, lost place when not much room 4 out, no extra from next
held up on outside, headway 11th, blundered 4 out and 3 out, jumped right and one pace 2 out, stayed on flat, went 3rd close home
held up in rear, not fluent 9th, headway 11th, one pace from 2 out, lost 3rd close home
held up towards rear, not fluent 7th or 10th, headway approaching 4 out, soon no impression
mid-division, headway 8th, led 4 out, ridden and wandered after 2 out, not fluent and rider lost iron last, soon headed and hung left, no impression on winner towards finish
chased leaders, led after 11th, headed 4 out, challenged last, soon led, stayed on well
Notarfbad appears out of sorts but Violets Boy is proving a model of consistency and has A P McCoy doing the steering today. He's gone up another 4lb since his latest second at Doncaster, however, whereas WORKBENCH is slowly sliding down the weights again despite a decent third over further at Wincanton. Dan Skelton's six-year-old needs to leave it late but his jockey knows his quirks and the partnership should be tough to beat today. Umberto D'Olivate was progressive last season and may have need his run at Chepstow while Wilton Milan cane good at Newbury last week, though will need more in this grade. Shangani and Filbert look the pick of the remainder and both could get involved if back on song.
Notarfbad (IRE) 50-1 (11-8) Prominent, lost place before 11th, mistake next, soon behind, pulled up 2 out, in a race won by Sound Investment (11-12) at Sandown 2m 4f hcp chs 0-150 (2) gs in Nov, 14 ran.
Shangani (USA) 16-1 (11-2) Always behind, reminders after 5th, never dangerous, 9th of 19, 39l behind Bold Henry (10-6) at Cheltenham 2m hcp chs 0-145 (2) sft in Nov.
Umberto D'olivate (FR) 17-2 (10-7) With leader, weakened from 5 out, hampered next, 6th of 12, 23l behind Grey Gold (11-8) at Chepstow 2m hcp chs (2) sft in Oct.
Violets Boy (IRE) 16-1 (10-13) Tracked leaders in 3rd, went 2nd 4 out, every chance 3 out, ridden before 2 out, kept on, 2nd of 9, 2 3/4l behind Robbie (11-6) at Doncaster 2m 4f hcp chs 0-140 (3) sft in Nov.
Filbert (IRE) 7-1 (11-1) Held up in rear, outpaced 5 out, headway 3 out, never on terms, 5th of 14, 21l behind Sound Investment (11-12) at Sandown 2m 4f hcp chs 0-150 (2) gs in Nov.
Workbench (FR) 25-1 (11-0) Held up in rear, headway 14th, close up when not fluent and stumbled 3 out, driven after 2 out, one pace in 4th when jumped right last, 3rd of 18, 7l behind Court By Surprise (11-7) at Wincanton 3m 1f listed hcp chs (1) gs in Nov.
Daymar Bay (IRE) 11-2 (11-9) Held up mid-division, headway before 3 out, weakened from 2 out, 4th of 10, 20l behind Hollow Penny (11-7) at Wincanton 2m 4f hcp chs 0-130 (3) gd in Oct.
Wilton Milan (IRE) 3-1 (11-4) Tracked leaders, went 2nd 9th, led 11th, ridden when left clear 2 out, 5 lengths ahead last, stayed on, won at Newbury 2m 2f cond hcp chs (4yo+) (3) sft in Nov beating Quick Decisson (11-3) by 13l, 8 ran.
Ultragold (FR) 9-4fav (11-6) Not fluent, chased clear leading pair until 4th, weakened after next, tailing off when pulled up before 7th, in a race won by Paddy The Stout (10-4) at Kempton 2m hcp chs 0-135 (3) hvy in Feb, 7 ran.
