held up in touch, weakened 13th, soon beaten
held up in touch, reminder 9th, chased winner 4 out, weakened 2 out
held up, reminders after 7th, headway 3 out, chased winner next, no extra flat
led, mistake 5th, headed 8th, led again 10th, headed 12th, led again next, hit last, driven out
tracked leaders, under pressure 11th, weakened 4 out
tracked leader, led 8th, headed 10th, led again 12th, mistake and headed next, soon pushed along and weakened
Chopneyev should prove too strong in this novices' chase and he is preferred to Broken Reed and Iloveturtle. The selection will handle these testing conditions and he ran well enough when finishing third behind Zimbabwe at Exeter last time. This step-up in trip should suit and this Richard Phillips-trained 9-year-old is taken to get his head in front. Broken Reed was a slightly fortunate winner at Leicester last time as the leader fell at the last. He is not the most fluent jumper but he does appear to be going the right way and he has won over this trip over hurdles in the past on soft ground. Iloveturtle is in good form at the moment and he won well last time out at Wetherby when beating Kinkeel. He should have no problems with the step-up in trip and he looks to hold a leading chance, although he is creeping up the weights. Captain Flinders tackles this trip for the first time today and is worth a look in the market, but Chopneyev has plenty in his favour and he gets the vote.
Iloveturtle (IRE) 7-1 (10-12) Chased leaders, blundered 2 out, led approaching last, stayed on well, won at Wetherby 2m hcp chs (5) hvy beating Kinkeel (10-1) by a nk, 11 ran.
Broken Reed (IRE) 2-1 (11-0) Prominent, ridden 4 out, left in lead last, all out, won at Leicester 2m 7f nov chs (4) gd in Dec beating Nagam (10-11) by 8l, 8 ran.
Captain Flinders (IRE) 15-2 (10-11) Held up, never near leaders, 7th of 13, 27l behind Art Virginia (11-11) at Ludlow 2m 4f nov hcp chs 0-115 (3) gs in Dec.
Chopneyev (FR) 3-1fav (10-9) Chased leader, led 6th to 8th, every chance approaching 4 out, kept on same pace from 2 out, 3rd of 10, 10l behind Zimbabwe (10-4) at Exeter 2m 7f hcp chs 0-115 (4) hvy.
Lenny 8-1 (11-0) Tracked leaders, weakened 4 out, 7th of 12, well behind Snakebite (11-0) at Folkestone 3m 1f nov chs (4) sft in Dec.
Treasulier (IRE) 11-2 (10-10) Prominent, led 5th to 12th, plugged on one pace after, 3rd of 13, 11l behind Alcatras (10-7) at Taunton 2m 7f hcp chs 0-105 (4) sft in Dec.
