chased leaders, led 4th, driven clear 4 out, headed 2 out, no extra flat
pulled hard in mid-division, under pressure 5 out, soon beaten, behind when pulled up before 2 out
led until 4th, remained prominent, weakened 5 out, behind when mistake 2 out, pulled up last
chased leaders, went 2nd 4 out, led 2 out, drew clear last, comfortably (2 fences omitted)
raced wide throughout, held up in rear, headway to chase leaders 5 out, weakened after 3 out, jumped left last, modest 4th
held up in rear, outpaced 5 out, headway 2 out, kept on to go modest 3rd after last
chased leaders, under pressure 7th, weakened 5 out, in rear when fell 3 out
with leaders, effort 4 out, weakened 2 out
Plenty of guesswork needed as to which one of these will return to form and only a tentative vote goes to DIAMOND FRONTIER. He finally managed to complete a round when fourth at Wetherby last time and is now back on a winning mark. Kudu Country has struggled since landing a novice chase at Southwell early in the year while Pret A Thou and Doctor David have shown little since returning to action. Desert Cry has been given a chance by the handicapper if he's back to his best, however, and Andreo Bambaleo has a shout if fully tuned-up on his first start since July.
Kudu Country (IRE) 6-1 (11-12) Chased leaders, mistake 1st, not fluent 5th, closed next, led after 7th, blundered and headed 4 out, weakened 2 out, 5th of 8, 29l behind Prosecco (10-0) at Ayr 2m hcp chs 0-135 (3) sft in Nov.
Doctor David 7-1 (11-7) Keen tracked leaders, ridden and every chance 3 out, hit next hard, soon weakened, lost 2 places run-in, last of 5, 16l behind Kumbeshwar (11-7) at Haydock 2m grad ch (2) sft in Nov.
Pret A Thou (FR) 8-1 (11-7) Led, blundered 3rd, soon headed, mistake 5th, pushed along before 4 out, weakened before next, 5th of 6, 29l behind Prosecco (10-12) at Wetherby 2m hcp chs 0-140 (3) sft.
Desert Cry (IRE) 15-8 (11-0) Chased leaders, mistake 1st, not fluent 8th, pushed along 4 out, soon no impression, 3rd of 4, 21l behind Stormy Weather (11-0) at Wetherby 2m nov chs (4) gs in Nov.
Andreo Bambaleo 8-1 (11-5) Tracked leaders, led 7th, ridden and headed before 2 out, weakened last, 4th of 6, 10l behind Nataani (11-5) at Bangor 2m 4f nov chs (4) gd in Jul.
Quite The Man (IRE) 11-2 (11-6) Behind, outpaced 9th, 6th and beaten when blundered and jumped right from 4 out, weakened next, 7th of 8, well behind Tiptoeaway (11-7) at Wetherby 2m hcp chs 0-135 (3) gs in Oct.
Diamond Frontier (IRE) 9-1 (10-12) With leader, led before 4th, headed before 4 out, ridden and weakened before last, 4th of 6, 11l behind Prosecco (10-12) at Wetherby 2m hcp chs 0-140 (3) sft.
Arctic Ben (IRE) 8-1 (11-9) Led 2nd, headed 5 out, weakened approaching 2 out, 6th of 10, 26l behind Triptico (11-2) at Chepstow 2m 3f hcp chs 0-130 (3) hvy.
