led and one length clear when blundered and fell 15th
chased leader to 9th, left 2nd again 15th, kept on same pace from 3 out
not fluent, prominent, jumped slowly and dropped rear 4th, outpaced from 12th, kept on again under pressure from 3 out
held up, went 2nd 9th, left clear 15th, stayed on well
With Charlie Mann's Nativetrial clearly on of his stable's lesser lights and Ben de Haan's Wontcostalotbut having shown a modicum of ability over fences so far compared to his hurdle form (rated 95 over fences compared to 111 over hurdles), this should lie between the other two runners. Richard Mitchell's Kittenkat (rated 120 at his best over hurdles) has lost his way over timber during the last year and, although the mare has shown signs of encouragement in three starts over the larger obstacles, the TEAMtalk selection has to be Brockton Mist. The Philip Hobbs-trained gelding was lightly raced over hurdles but did win novice events at Wetherby and Perth. Not disgraced in two starts in novice chase company, most recently when second to Cracking Dawn at Haydock, the seven-year-old is open to more improvement than most and gets the nod.
