held up, left 4th 2nd, held from 8th
led, soon clear, jumped left, hit 6th, headed 8th, ridden 10th, soon held
tracked leaders, held from 8th, rider dropped hands and lost 2nd line
fell heavily 2nd
tracked leader, with leader from 7th, led next, clear 4 out, blundered last, kept on
Officier De Reserve can take this on his British debut, Lunar Crystal and Water Taxi may provide most danger. Paul Nicholls does well with his French imports and this one has already been successful twice over fences. The ground and trip are ideal and barring a mishap he should continue his winning ways. Lunar Crystal is rated 130 over hurdles but has struggled over the larger obstacles. There is a slight doubt as well about the stable's runners and so he is passed over on this occasion. Water Taxi was a faller last time out but had previously finished a close up third behind the smart Jack The Giant. A repeat of that run would make him hard to beat. The other two runners look out of their depth and so in what is really a three horse affair, Officier De Reserve is taken to oblige.
Irish Legend (IRE) 18-1 (11-4) Held up , lost touch 8th, 5th of 7, well behind Rowlands Dream (10-11) at Taunton 2m 7f beg chs (4) gs.
Lunar Crystal (IRE) 12-1 (11-8) Chased leaders, ridden after 8th, weakened approaching 4 out, 5th of 9, 32l behind Malaga Boy (10-4) at Taunton 2m 3f hcp chs 0-125 (3) sft in Jan.
Supreme Marque (IRE) 200-1 (10-11) Behind from 4th, lost touch 9th, 9th of 11, well behind Rehearsal (11-4) at Ludlow 2m beg chs (4) gd in Jan.
Water Taxi 3-1 (11-5) Led until fell at the 7th in race won by Pearl King (10-7) at Leicester 2m nov chs (3) gs in Nov, 5 ran.
Officier De Reserve (FR) (10-8) In touch, headway 4 out, led run-in, comfortably, won at Bordeaux Le Bous 2m 3f ch in Dec beating O Brazil (10-3) by 3l, 7 ran.
