held up, closed from 7th, went 2nd before last, no impression on winner, stayed on same pace
carried head high, led, not fluent 2nd, jumped slowly next, headed 4th, led 5th until 6th, led before next, headed approaching last, soon 3rd and no extra
tracked leader, led 4th until 5th, led 6th, headed when jumped slowly 7th, last after, weakened 3 out
tracked leaders, went 2nd 7th, led before last, soon clear, comfortably
It's hard to fault Edmund over the last six months. He's won three times since the turn of the year but has gone up a further 5lb since scoring narrowly at Cartmel and the handicapper may have finally caught up with him. Castlelawn won twice here around this time last year and will have needed his run at Perth in April. He could take some catching if allowed an easy lead but that seems unlikely as GREY LIFE also likes to be prominent. Malcolm Jefferson's charge was conceding lumps of weight at Kelso last time after winning easily at Sedgefield and deserves another chance. Jack The Gent ran well at Doncaster on his penultimate start but has disappointed again at Southwell since.
Edmund (IRE) 4-1fav (11-6) Held up in rear, headway before 9th, mistake 3 out, hampered last, rider lost iron briefly before home turn, stayed on under pressure to lead close home, won at Cartmel 2m 5f hcp chs 0-125 (3) gd in May beating Mr Syntax (11-10) by nk, 10 ran.
Castlelawn (IRE) 11-2 (11-5) Led, pressed from 2 out, soon ridden, headed last, no extra and lost 3rd place run-in, 4th of 5, 6l behind Ut Majeur Aulmes (11-8) at Perth 2m nov hcp chs (0-125) (3) gd in Apr.
Jack The Gent (IRE) 4-1 (10-4) Led until 3rd, chased clear leader, closed approachiong 7th, lost 2nd 7th, weakened next, went badly left 9th, clambered over 4 out and immediately pulled up, in a race won by Kings Grey (11-8) at Southwell 2m hcp chs 0-140 (3) gd in Apr, 6 ran.
Grey Life 11-4 (11-12) Prominent, lost place 2 out, soon ridden, 4th and beaten when hit last, weakened flat, 5th of 7, 19l behind Robin's Command (9-9) at Kelso 2m 1f nov hcp chs 0-115 (4) gs in May.