led until 2nd, chased leading pair, led again after 5th, bumped 12th, blundered badly 3 out, ridden and headed on long run before last, soon struggling and no chance with winner
not fluent and junped left at times, chased leader, led 2nd until next, dropped to 3rd after 5th, mistake next, left 2nd 9th, went badly left and bumped 12th, ridden when lost 2nd before 4 out, continued tailed off in 3rd
in rear, left 4th at 9th, tailed off 14th, pulled up soon after
held up in 4th, left in 3rd when badly hampered and rider lost iron briefly 9th, went 2nd before 4 out, led on long run before the last, soon clear
tracke dleaders, went 2nd at 2nd, led next, blundered and all but fell 9th
Veteran Work Boy has been showing his age lately and is hard to fancy in this but the other four all have some sort of chance. The biggest question mark hangs over Riddlestown, who has been out of sorts in a couple of starts since returning from a break. Shinooki has been raised 8lb for his win over a shorter trip here 12 days ago but the extra yardage won't be a problem. He is preferred to the penalised Sedgefield scorer Master Rajeem but TRAFALGAR is a possible fly in the ointment. Dan Skelton's gelding is starting to come down the weights and should get an uncontested lead in this - he may be hard to peg back.
Master Rajeem (USA) 9-2 (11-12) Tracked leaders, led before 5 out, clear before 2 out, kept on well, won at Sedgefield 3m 3f hcp chs 0-120 (4) sft beating Basford Ben (10-9) by 25l, 7 ran.
Trafalgar (FR) 7-2 (11-12) Led until 3 out, not fluent and no extra next, 5th of 7, 37l behind No Duffer (11-9) at Stratford 2m 7f hcp chs 0-120 (4) gs in Oct.
Riddlestown (IRE) 11-1 (11-6) Held up on outside, headway after 7th, pushed along 10th, lost place after 3 out, weakened before next, 5th of 7, 32l behind King Rolfe (11-7) at Southwell 2m 4f hcp chs 0-115 (4) sft in Dec.
Shinooki (IRE) 8-11fav (11-11) Held up in touch in rear, went 3rd at 12th, chased leader next, led bend before last, ridden when idled flat, won at Fakenham 2m 5f nov hcp chs 0-100 (5) sft beating Sitting Back (10-4) by 8l, 4 ran.
Work Boy 66-1 (11-2) In touch, mistake and lost place 4th, behind from next, tailed off when pulled up before 12th, in a race won by Winged Crusader (11-7) at Uttoxeter 3m hcp chs 0-110 (4) hvy in Dec, 8 ran.
