held up in touch, headway before 3 out, led after 3 out, headed last, kept on and held towards finish
tracked leader, hit 4 out, weakened after 3 out
led, pushed along 3 out, soon headed
tracked leaders, effort and no impression on leading pair from after 3 out
in rear, headway before 3 out challenged 2 out, led last, held on towards finish
Theo's Charm only had three runs last winter and was placed in stronger company. He made a promising reappearance on heavy ground at Plumpton and should make a bold bid to give the weight away here. KING D'ARGENT ended the last campaign with an excellent run in the Grade 3 Fred Winter at Cheltenham and should have come on enough from last month's run to take this. Du Soleil reverts to hurdles after two falls over the bigger obstacles. Deebaj won by 15l here last December and loves the conditions while Barntown might have beaten Ruacarna here last week but for a last-flight fall and the winner goes earlier.
Theo's Charm (IRE) 10-1 (11-10) Held up in rear, headway 3 out, chased leaders after next, kept on same pace, 3rd of 9, 3 1/2l behind Dan McGrue (11-10) at Plumpton 2m 5f hcp (3) hvy in Nov.
King D'Argent (FR) 7-1 (11-2) Tracked leaders from 2nd, ridden and outpaced by front pair after 2 out, no danger after, weakened last, 5th of 9, 15 3/4l behind Torpillo (11-10) at Chepstow 2m hcp (2) sft in Oct.
Du Soleil (FR) 7-1 (11-6) Led, soon clear, fell 8th, at Stratford 2m 7f hcp (4) sft in Oct.
Deebaj (IRE) 8-1 (9-7) Held up mid-division, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, 10th of 13, 19 3/4l behind Thresholdofadream (8-10) at Kempton 2m hcp (6) pol in Jun.
Barntown (IRE) 7-1 (10-10) Held up behind, headway after 3 out, led 2 out, narrow lead when fell last, at Lingfield 2m 3f hcp (3) hvy in Nov.
