tended to jump right, led until not fluent and headed 3rd, chased winner, went badly right and fell 12th
raced keenly, tracked clear leading pair, well outpaced 8th, tailed off and no chance from 10th, left distant 2nd 12th
behind, reminders and struggling after 4th, tailed off and no chance from 10th, left distant 3rd 12th
mostly jumped well, tracked leader, led 3rd, left well clear 12th, reached for last, canter
Abidjan beat the useful War Singer at Newton Abbot in May but then failed to land the odds here in June and has been rested since. He still has time on his side but would need to be at the top of his game to give 6lb to SHANTOU VILLAGE. Big things are expected of Neil Mulholland's charge, a Grade 2 winner over hurdles. He's already won between the flags and there will be some long faces if he doesn't make a winning start here. Code Of Law and Oscars Way look to be making up the numbers.
Abidjan (FR) 5-6fav (11-5) Led, jumped right at times, not fluent and headed 6th, not fluent 3 out, driven and no impression next, eased flat, 2nd of 4, 25l behind Pass The Time (10-5) at Fontwell 2m 1f (4) gd in Jun.
Code Of Law 50-1 (11-0) Prominent, led 3rd, headed after next, mistake 5th, lost place after 4 out, well beaten before next, 9th of 12, dist behind Mysterious Man (11-0) at Worcester 2m 4f mdn (5) gd in Aug.
Oscars Way (IRE) 125-1 (10-12) Chased leaders, not fluent and lost place 4th (water), rallied chasing leaders 6th, weakened 4 out, pulled up before 2 out, at Newton Abbot 3m 2f (3) gd in Aug.
Shantou Village (IRE) 7-2fav (11-5) Held up in mid-division, headway after 3 out, weakened after next, eased and pulled up before last, at Cheltenham 3m (1) gd in Mar.
