behind, always behind, jumped badly left and dropped to rear 9th, soon lost touch, tailed off
towards rear, ridden and hit 7th, struggling 9th, pulled up before next
chased leaders, jumped slowly 4th, reminders 8th, still in touch when mistake and fell 11th
chased leaders, one pace in 3rd when jumped left last 3 fences
held up in rear, hit 7th, ridden 9th, tailed off 12th, left poor 4th before 3 out
made all, jumped left final circuit, clear after 4 out, unchallenged
held up, headway 10th, badly hampered next, not recover, weakened into poor 5th when pulled up before 3 out
soon chasing winner until weakened rapidly after 11th, tailed off when pulled up before 4 out
held up, headway 10th, blundered and went 2nd 11th, no chance with winner
SHAKE THE BARLEY is the selection with Funny Fellow and Soprano appearing the most obvious alternatives. Tom George's inmate has been a little in and out to say the least but the yard are having winners and having won at Taunton, we are confident that he will be able to transfer his form to Kempton this afternoon. Funny Fellow was an emphatic winner of a Plumpton handicap. He will go up plenty for that so the decision to race here under a penalty was merely academic. He would not want the going to dry any further. Soprano is sure to be popular for Jonjo O'Neill. A winner of three starts on the flat in Germany, he demonstrated plenty of resolution in a tough battle at Leicester earlier in the month. Neil Mullholland has had a great season so far so don't dismiss I'm A Legend. A fair hurdler on his day, he has solid form on sharp tracks. The Spieler has clearly had his campaigns blighted by training troubles. Diego Velasquez is always vulnerable to anything that is progressive. Shake The Barley gets the nod.
I'm A Legend 8-1 (11-12) Held up, not fluent 10th, headway 4 out, one pace from 2 out, 4th of 9, 7l behind Matcho Pierji (11-7) at Leicester 2m 4f hcp chs 0-115 (4) gd in Feb.
The Spieler (IRE) 8-1 (10-12) Chased leaders in 4th, went 3rd 8th, pressing leaders and every chance when blundered badly 3 out, not recover, 7th of 9, 37l behind Very Cool (10-8) at Newbury 2m 6f nov hcp chs 0-125 (3) gd in Feb.
Soprano (GER) 15-2 (10-13) Towards rear, chased leaders approaching 3 out, led on bit after 2 out, blundered last, stayed on flat, won at Leicester 2m nov hcp chs 0-105 (4) gs beating Gershwin (11-12) by 2l, 8 ran.
Shake The Barley (IRE) 5-2fav (11-10) Made all, ridden after 4 out, jumped left last, kept on, won at Taunton 2m nov hcp chs 0-100 (4) gs in Feb beating Jack's Lad (10-0) by 1 1/2l, 9 ran.
Diego Velasquez (IRE) 7-1 (11-3) In touch, ridden after 4 out, one pace from next, 7th of 12, 20l behind Marsh Court (11-2) at Taunton 2m 3f hcp chs 0-105 (4) sft in Feb.
Fire And Rain (FR) 4-1 (10-4) Held up towards rear, last 9th, hit next, soon well behind, tailed off when pulled up at the last in race won by Busy Isit (11-4) at Leicester 2m 4f hcp chs 0-120 (3) gs in Dec, 12 ran.
Funny Fellow 6-1 (10-13) Mainly jumped well, made all, hit 10th, clear after 3 out, easily, won at Plumpton 2m 4f nov hcp chs 0-105 (4) gs beating Silver Dollars (11-6) by 21l, 10 ran.
Taipan's Promise (IRE) 14-1 (10-12) Tracked leaders, ridden approaching 4 out, soon weakened, 4th of 8, 40l behind Picts Hill (10-12) at Exeter 2m 3f nov chs (4) gd.
Ballyman (IRE) 13-2 (10-6) Took keen hold, in touch, went 2nd 9th until hit next, blundered 4 out, stayed on run-in to press for 2nd near finish but no chance with winner, 3rd of 10, 21l behind Funny Fellow (10-13) at Plumpton 2m 4f nov hcp chs 0-105 (4) gs.
