made all, hit 2 out, ridden out
held up in rear, hit 1st, blundered 8th, tailed off from 13th
held up in touch unr ridden and weakened from 8th
tracked leaders, mistakes, effort 3 out, kept on one pace
tracked winner, ridden 3 out, weakened approaching last
Having won the Peterborough Chase in each of the last four years with Edredon Bleu, Henrietta Knight relies upon Best Mate this term. The Gold Cup winner is making his much-awaited first start since a career high success in the Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup and, with the race conditions and ground to suit, the Jim Lewis-owned gelding should take all of the beating and is the obvious TEAMtalk selection. French raider Douze Douze, who receives 10lbs from the seven-year-old has the King George as his aim and may not quite be fully wound up for this. However, if he is as good as we have been lead to be believed by trainer Guillaume Macaire, the six-year-old is probably the best bet for the forecast spot. Nicky Henderson's Geos, who finished second in this 12 months ago, is a classy horse over hurdles but has yet to prove himself over fences in this country (did win over larger obstacles in France). Martin Pipe's Tresor De Mai faces a near impossible task off level weights with Best Mate and it is difficult to envisage him troubling Henrietta Knight's gelding, while Castle Prince looks out of his depth.
