held up towards rear and keen, not fluent 10th, hit 11th, chased leaders approaching next, led 2 out, ridden and joined last, kept on gamely flat, headed towards finish
held up mid-division on outer, reminders after 5th, headway 11th, pushed along after 5 out, in 6th and one pace when refused 3 out
tracked leaders in 3rd, ridden and weakened 4 out
tracked leader and keen, led 2nd, blundered badly 12th, headed 2 out, in 4th and held when fell last
held in rear, hit 2nd, hit 13th, headway after 3 out, challenged and upsides last, ridden flat, kept on gamely to lead towards finish
held up behind, headway after 5 out, chased leaders 4 out, no extra from last
held up in touch, ridden approaching 5 out, soon weakened, tailed off from 4 out
led to 2nd, tracked leader, ridden and weakened from 2 out
Maktu was undeniably impressive when last seen but a return to handicap company demands much more, especially with a revised mark to contend with, and he's struggled to win off much lower marks in the past. With that in mind, it may pay to focus on ERNST BLOFELD and King Fontaine, with the former preferred. Our selection ran well on his return last year to advertise that he can perform on his first run back from a summer holiday and the form of his penultimate outing, when second to Little Josh, looks even better now than it did at the time. That was in handicap company off a 3lb lower mark and, as he went on to prove his stamina for this trip by winning at Carlisle, a big run is anticipated. King Fontaine has done well since joining Malcolm Jefferson and won first-time-out last year, but he's got to prove his stamina and has a little to learn in the jumping department as has The Jazz Musician, who steps down markedly in grade and is certainly worth considering.
Maktu 2-1fav (10-7) Held up, headway 5th, led 7th, clear approaching 4 out, ridden after 2 out, eased flat, won at Haydock 3m nov chs 0-125 (3) hvy in Apr beating Vodka Brook (11-4) by 20l, 5 ran.
Ernst Blofeld (IRE) 5-6fav (11-4) Tracked leading pair, switched inside and headway 4 out, led next, ridden after 2 out, stayed on well, edged left towards finish, won at Carlisle 3m nov chs (3) gs in Mar beating Mirage Dore (11-4) by 2 1/2l, 5 ran.
Mizen Raven (IRE) 12-1 (10-5) Mid-division, fell 10th, in a race won by Silmi (9-11) at Market Rasen 2m 6f listed hcp chs (1) gd in Sep, 15 ran.
The Jazz Musician (IRE) 33-1 (11-4) Led to 1st, tracked winner until 8th, soon dropped to rear, weakened approaching 12th, fell 4 out, in a race won by Mad Max (11-4) at Aintree 2m 4f nov chs G2 (1) gs in Apr, 6 ran.
King Fontaine (IRE) 4-7fav (11-12) Close up, led 5th, blundered last, driven out, just held on, won at Market Rasen 2m 4f nov hcp chs (0-125) (3) gd in Apr beating Indian Pipe Dream (11-0) by nk, 4 ran.
Categorical 14-1 (11-3) Led to 2nd, weakened 3 out, pulled up before 2 out, in a race won by Himalayan Trail (11-7) at Carlisle 3m hcp chs 0-130 (3) sft in Apr, 16 ran.
Flake 33-1 (10-4) Prominent, ridden and lost place after 7th, 9th of 11, 20l behind Riptide (11-5) at Haydock 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-135 (3) gd in Oct.
Dark Ben (FR) 3-1fav (11-7) Made most, joined by winner 12th, drew clear of rest 14th, headed 4 out, soon ridden and no chance with winner, just held on for 2nd near finish, 2nd of 6, 17l behind Himalayan Trail (11-10) at Haydock 3m hcp chs 0-115 (4) sft in Mar.
