chased leader 3rd to 7th, weakened next, tailed off when left 3rd 2 out
led, hit 13th and 14th, headed 2 out, beaten when went left last
held up and not fluent, hit 7th, headway 11th, ridden and hung left from 13th, joined leader next, 3rd and weakening when fell 2 out
close up, hit 7th, led 2 out, clear last, easily
Napolitain showed decent form over hurdles for trainer Paul Nicholls last term and could be the type to do better still over fences but he will need to be useful to get the better of Steppes of Gold, who is given a confident vote with Rare Society rated the best of the remainder. The selection was an expensive purchase out of the stable of Nicky Richards but raced only once last term when the yard of Jonjo O'Neill was under a virus and he was probably not at his best when beaten at Uttoxeter. The son of Moscow Society jumped well enough that day though and provided that he is straight enough for his reappearance should be good enough to beat these. Diamond Merchant is nothing out of the ordinary, while Foreign Field looks distinctly moderate. The only serious threat, away from Napolitain, looks likely to come from Sue Smith's lightly raced Rare Society but Steppes Of Gold should be too classy for this rivals and gets the vote.
Foreign Field (FR) 33-1 (11-2) pulled up 4 out in race won by Koumba (11-2) at Worcester 2m 7f beg chs (E) gf in Sept, 7 ran.
Rare Society (IRE) 9-2 (11-2) With leader, led 9th, headed 15th, outpaced after 4 out, ridden and not fluent 2 out, kept on flat, no chance with winner, 2nd of 6, 9l behind Has Scored (10-12) at Catterick 3m 1f beg chs (E) gd in Jan.
Steppes of Gold (IRE) 5-6fav (11-3) Tracked leaders and keen, went second 3 out, ridden approaching last, kept on same pace, no chance with winner, 2nd of 4, 9l behind Dungarvans Choice (11-3) at Uttoxeter 2m beg chs (E) hvy in Dec.
Napolitain (FR) Evensfav (11-3) Tracked leaders, headway 5th, led before 3 out, clear after next, comfortably, won at Perth 2m nov hdl (C) sft in Apr beating Escompteur (11-8) by 20l, 9 ran.
Diamond Merchant 5-1 (11-12) Held up in touch, ridden 3 out, weakened soon after, 6th of 10, 17l behind Alva Glen (11-1) at Hereford 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-110 (E) gf in May.
