in rear, mistake 2nd and 5th, headway from 3 out, ridden and mistake 2 out, soon weakened under pressure
stumbled 1st, mid-division, blundered 3rd, chased leading trio 10th to after 3 out, stayed on under pressure from next
not fluent, raced keenly, tracked leader, led after 3rd, 4 lengths clear last, tired flat and headed near finish
led to after 3rd, stayed chasing leader, ridden and 4 lengths down last, stayed on flat, led near finish
tracked leading pair, went 2nd at 7th until blundered 4 out, weakened approaching 2 out
behind, struggling 8th, tailed off when blundered 3 out
led chasing group, blundered 4th, blundered and weakened 8th, tailed off
held up, headway to chase leading trio after 3 out, went 3rd and blundered 2 out, stayed on same pace from next
always behind, tailed off when blundered and pulled up 8th
always behind, 7th and no chance when blundered 3 out, mistake next
always rear, tailed off from 8th
A pretty awful handicap chase where small or no stakes are advised but if you must play then the suggestion is French Direction, with Buckland Gold and The Iron Giant also entering calculations. French Direction is no good thing, having scored just once thus far, but Richard Rowe has a pretty good record strike rate in chases here, the gelding has been dropped 6lb and so is just 2lb above that winning mark, and he acts on the ground. Enough said. Buckland Gold is still a maiden after 15 starts and has raced almost exclusively with cut in the ground. His general level of form is not great, but if he runs to his ability he would still have a squeak here, though he clearly has plenty to prove. The Iron Giant is dropped back significantly in trip from around three miles to two here. Being by Giant's Causeway, in actual fact, that may work to his advantage and we could see improvement. Kind Sir is firmly on the downgrade, now fully 30lb below his last success, and it is hard to enthuse about his chance and Kaikovra may be a better proposition. It's a no bet race for this judge, but if you must then we'll point you in the French Direction.
Batchworth Beau 13-2 (11-4) Chased leader until mistake and weakened 3 out, 8th of 11, 41l behind Amnesty (11-3) at Plumpton 2m sll hcp hdl 0-95 (5) gf in Sept.
Buckland Gold (IRE) 14-1 (11-3) In touch, weakened 3 out, 5th of 9, 28l behind Helen Wood (10-2) at Fontwell 2m 2f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) sft in Feb.
Action Spirit (GER) 25-1 (10-0) Never a factor, virtually pulled up from last, last of 16, well behind Rosoff (10-11) at Tramore 2m hcp hdl 0-95 gs in Aug.
Bill Owen 14-1 (10-12) Led to 11th, ridden and weakened after 12th, 7th of 12, well behind L'Oiseau (11-2) at Fontwell 2m 6f hcp chs 0-100 (4) gf.
French Direction (IRE) 7-1 (10-11) Held up, headway from 9th, ridden to chase leaders 3 out, kept on same pace, 4th of 14, 11l behind Twentytwosilver (10-10) at Fontwell 2m 2f hcp chs 0-105 (4) gf in Jun '06.
The Iron Giant (IRE) 6-1fav (10-11) Led, clear after 5th until ridden approaching 2 out, headed last, no extra flat, 4th of 15, 4l behind Aristi (10-12) at Uttoxeter 2m 6f sll hcp hdl 0-95 (5) gd in Sept.
Kind Sir 14-1 (9-11) Tracked leader, led after 2nd to 6th, ridden 4 out, soon weakened, 9th of 15, well behind Rowdy Yeats (11-12) at Market Rasen 2m 2f hcp chs 0-100 (4) gd in Sept.
Kaikovra (IRE) 16-1 (11-0) Chased leaders, led 3 out, headed before 2 out, weakened, 5th of 11, 13l behind Amnesty (11-3) at Plumpton 2m sll hcp hdl 0-95 (5) gf in Sept.
Past Heritage 66-1 (10-2) Held up towards rear, ridden 9th, soon weakened, beaten when pulled up 4 out in race won by Nemetan (11-3) at Taunton 2m 3f nov hcp chs 0-95 (5) sft in Dec, 11 ran.
Sean Og (IRE) 100-1 (11-4) Always behind, ridden and struggling well before 4 out, 7th of 8, well behind Mahogany Blaze (11-4) at Kempton 2m beg chs (3) gd.
Macgyver (NZ) 16-1 (9-11) Tracked leaders until weakened after 4 out, 7th of 11, 14l behind Rowdy Yeats (12-2) at Lingfield 2m cnd hcp chs 0-100 (4) sft.
