in touch, tracked leaders halfway, mistake 4 out, chased leader 2 out, hard ridden to lead flat, stayed on well, all out
tracked leaders, slow 10th, soon lost place, mistake 4 out
held up towards rear, headway before 10th, soon prominent, ridden to challenge 2 out, weakened last
tracked leaders, not fluent 4th, under pressure approaching 3 out, soon one pace
led, driven 2 out, jumped left last, hard ridden and headed flat, kept on
soon in rear, mistake 3rd, behind when pulled up 2 out
always behind
in touch, mistake 2nd, ridden 4 out, soon weakened
towards rear, reminders 7th, under pressure 9th, soon beaten
No Complaint has transferred his hurdles form to fences and Tom George's gelding has to be respected but he has a bit to find on official ratings with Bengo who gets the vote with Olay Olay rated the pick of the remainder. The selection has the advantage of experience over the large number of his opponents having had 13 starts over the larger obstacles. While he has yet to win a race over fences, Ben de Haan's gelding does have some respectable form to his name and is taken to gain an overdue first success. Charlie Mann's Caged Tiger is less exposed than most of these and has to be considered along with Henry Daly's Blackbriery Thyne, who should come on for his recent reappearance run. Jonjo O'Neill's Olay Olay has the ability to win a race of this nature but is not the most consistent of performers and a safer bet may be Bengo, who is taken to gain an overdue success.
Bengo (IRE) 5-1 (11-6) Towards rear, steady headway 16th, ridden 3 out, weakened last, 3rd of 9, 17l behind Arnold Layne (11-12) at Warwick 3m 5f hcp chs 0-120 (3) sft.
Bynack Mhor (IRE) 66-1 (10-9) Always in rear, lost touch 5th, 8th of 9, 44l behind Openditch (10-12) at Lingfield 2m 3f nh nov hdl (4) gf in Nov.
Caged Tiger 5-1 (11-2) Held up in touch, ridden 4 out, chased leading pair 3 out, soon ridden, effort and short of room flat, 2nd of 9, 1 1/2l behind Nacadour (11-2) at Leicester 2m 7f mdn chs (4) gf.
No Complaint (IRE) 11-10fav (10-12) With leader, led 5th to 7th, hard ridden after last, led final 100 yards, driven out, won at Uttoxeter 2m 6f nov chs (4) hvy in Jul beating Killard Point (11-10) by a shd, 5 ran.
Olay Olay (IRE) 5-2fav (11-0) Led to 11th, ridden after 3 out, soon weakened, 6th of 11, 26l behind Pasagai (10-11) at Bangor 2m 4f nov chs (4) gd.
Whist Drive 16-1 (11-7) Held up, hit 4th, struggling next, lost action and pulled up 5 out in race won by Fleetwood Forest (11-6) at Huntingdon 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-110 (4) gs in Dec '06, 18 ran.
Blackbriery Thyne (IRE) 2-1fav (11-0) Mid-division, clipped heels after 8th, headway 10th, ridden after 4 out, 3rd and held when hit 2 out, weakened, 4th of 8, 12l behind Methodical (10-9) at Fontwell 2m 4f mrs nov chs (4) gd in Nov.
Earcomesannie (IRE) 9-2 (11-2) Held up, headway 13th, led 15th, headed approaching last, one pace, 2nd of 12, 2l behind Rifleman (11-1) at Hereford 3m 1f amt hcp chs (5) gd in Nov.
Pukka Tique 20-1 (11-2) Prominent, ridden 5th and lost place, behind and tired when fell 2 out in race won by Arnold Layne (11-6) at Towcester 2m 6f hcp chs 0-105 (4) gd in Nov, 13 ran.