behind, headway 12th, soon ridden, weakened 3 out
held up and keen, headway 10th, ridden and every chance flat, stayed on
made all and jumped well, held on gamely
held up, headway approaching 8th, hampered 12th, soon lost place, went moderate 3rd last
prominent, lost place 9th, no danger after
mid-division, headway 10th, weakened after 3 out
prominent, close 2nd when blundered badly, unseated rider 12th
mid-division, headway 11th, left 2nd 12th, soon ridden, weakened 2 out
in touch, lost place 7th, effort 12th, weakened 3 out
Not particularly competitive stuff here and Halexy can take advantage to score for the in form Jonjo O'Neill yard, with Aristoxene and Cill Churnain others to consider. The selection was limited to just one run last season and was not disgraced at Newbury, but returned to action last week with a very promising run at Cheltenham when he was caught close home, and now the cobwebs have been blown off he can take this, over his optimum trip. Aristoxene remains high in the weights, but if the selection suffers from the bounce factor, then he could be the one to benefit. Nicky Henderson is in form with the few runners he has saddled so far, and this course and distance winner likes bottomless ground, so is respected. Cill Churnain might just be back to full fitness following two recent runs after a long break. He has won off a fair bit higher than this over hurdles, so he could be well handicapped, and he acts with cut, so don't write him off. Il'Athou makes some appeal over trip and ground, but he is prone to jumping errors and so is opposed, and we take Halexy to score.
Alam (USA) 100-1 (10-4) Always behind, never dangerous, 6th of 9, 48l behind Impek (10-7) at Aintree 2m 4f hcp chs Grd 2 (A) sft in Oct.
Aristoxene (FR) 10-1 (11-0) Tracked leaders, prominent after 15th, ridden after 4 out, weakened from 2 out, 5th of 8, 15l behind Imperial Dream (10-8) at Ayr 3m 1f nov hcp chs (B) gd in Apr.
Il'athou (FR) 3-1fav (11-12) Led to approaching 3rd, chased leader until weakened approaching 5 out, 4th of 6, 17l behind Harapour (11-11) at Chepstow 2m 3f hcp chs 0-125 (D) gd in Mar.
Halexy (FR) 12-1 (11-0) Tracked leaders, challenged from 10th, led 3 out, hard pressed last, headed flat, kept on under pressure, 2nd of 10, hd behind Whispered Secret (11-12) at Cheltenham 2m 4f hcp chs 0-135 (C) gd in Oct.
Benrajah (IRE) 33-1 (10-0) Chased leader to 9th, soon lost place, behind from 3 out, 12th of 16, well behind Tango Royal (10-8) at Market Rasen 2m 6f lst hcp chs (A) gd in Jul.
Itsuptoharry (IRE) 9-1 (11-6) Held up, pushed along 8th, soon tailed off and pulled up at the 10th in race won by Tigers Lair (11-6) at Bangor 2m 4f nov chs (D) gd in May, 5 ran.
Cill Churnain (IRE) 14-1 (11-5) Tracked leader, hit 2nd, ridden 4 out, one pace from 2 out, 3rd of 10, 8l behind Fair Prospect (11-12) at Aintree 2m 4f hcp chs 0-120 (D) gs in Oct.
Cassia Heights 10-1 (11-5) Mid-division, headway 14th, ridden and every chance approaching 2 out, weakened last, 3rd of 9, 9l behind Mullensgrove (10-3) at Aintree 3m 1f hcp chs 0-120 (D) gd in Jun.
