virtually made all, extended lead approaching 4 out, jumped right on occasions, long way clear from 3 out, ran on, easily
held up last of all, mistake 4th, pulled up before 5th
tracked leader, ridden over 4 out and lost ground on leader, kept on at same pace from 2 out
held up, nodded on landing 1st, jumped right throughout, niggled along and headway to go 3rd after 8th, went through the wing 2 out and ran out
midfield, pushed along and dropped to last after 8th, kept on at one pace from 4 out, went remote 3rd after 2 out
Fidelio Vallis has been quite highly tried this season and would have been the best of these over hurdles. He’ll have had plenty of schooling and it would be no surprise to see him make a winning start over the larger obstacles but STRONG GLANCE, another useful hurdler, has always looked as though he’d make his mark over fences so gets the nod. Annsam fell on his chasing bow at Exeter but did much better over track and trip last month and further improvement is likely.
Annsam 14-1 (11-2) Led, mistake 6th, not fluent 7th, pressed 5 out, headed 4 out, clear 2nd 3 out, switched left 2 out, ran on gamely and 2-lengths down last, no closer, 2nd of 6, 2l behind House Island (11-2) at Ludlow 2m 4f (4) gs in Nov.
Daranova (IRE) 16-1 (11-0) Chased leaders, lost place before 3rd, headway on outside after 5th, outpaced before 3 out, soon hung left and weakened, 5th of 12, 33 1/2l behind Grand Mogul (11-0) at Chepstow 2m 3f mdn (4) sft in Oct.
Fidelio Vallis (FR) 9-2 (11-0) Held up, chased clear leader (winner) 4th, still going well from 3 out until lost 2nd after 2 out, soon weakened, 4th of 6, 20 3/4l behind For Pleasure (11-0) at Cheltenham 2m (1) sft in Nov.
Strong Glance 16-1 (10-5) Chased leaders, ridden after 2 out, weakened before last, 8th of 14, 16 1/2l behind The Shunter (10-0) at Cheltenham 2m hcp (1) sft in Nov.
Aasleagh Dawn (IRE) 25-1 (11-11) Jumped right throughout, prominent out wide, ridden for effort 13th, weakened before 4 out, pulled up 3 out, at Doncaster 3m hcp (4) gd in Nov.
