prominent, lost place 5th, rallied 13th, ridden after 15th, weakened 4 out, 3rd and beaten when mistake 2 out
prominent, lost place 4th, soon behind, tailed off when mistake and unseated rider 3 out
jumped well, made all, clear 4 out, comfortably
in touch, mistake 12th, weakened 15th, behind when pulled up before 2 out
in touch, went 2nd 5th, ridden approaching 4 out, soon beaten
always behind
Kerstino Two is the choice to give rookie trainer Charlie Longsdon another winner, with Mayoun, Blue Sovereign and Reflex Blue all worth a mention. Formerly assistant to Nicky Henderson, Stow-On-The-Wold trainer Charlie Longsdon has already made his mark, adding to a recent Kempton success with Royal Katidoki by sending out Neysauteur to score at Exeter. He now bids for a third stable victory in six days, with Kerstino Two who had six hunter-chase outings for Caroline Keevil without scoring, but who failed by only half-a-length to give weight to Gielgud on his last start at Folkestone in May. He does tend to make the odd mistake, but Jamie Snowdon knows all about that, having ridden him twice, so hopefully will help his mount round what is not a demanding track. Mayoun was pulled up at Fontwell in May, failing to recover after his rider lost an iron early on, but a convincing success at Chepstow in January puts him in the frame. Reflex Blue has course form, and Blue Sovereign's jockey is capable enough, but for the winner we return to Kerstino Two.
Point 9-1 (11-5) Behind, mistake 3rd, headway 15th, ridden approaching 2 out, not quicken flat, 5th of 11, 3 1/2l behind Quizzling (10-4) at Ludlow 3m cnd hcp chs 0-105 (4) gd in Feb.
Blue Sovereign 40-1 (10-9) Chased leaders in close 3rd, ridden after 13th, hit 4 out, no chance with leading pair from next, 3rd of 6, 28l behind Boychuk (10-12) at Exeter 2m 7f beg chs (4) gf.
Kerstino Two 2-1fav (12-3) Chased leaders, mistake 4 out, chased winner 2 out, driven, strong challenge flat, always just held, 2nd of 8, 1/2l behind Gielgud (11-10) at Folkestone 2m 5f hts chs (6) gd in May.
Rich Song (IRE) 6-1 (11-5) Never better than mid-division, 7th of 13, 37l behind Jack Lynch (10-2) at Sedgefield 2m 5f nov hcp chs 0-95 (5) gf in Aug.
Mayoun (IRE) 5-2fav (11-5) Always behind, pecked 1st, weakened 14th, behind when pulled up at the last in race won by Primrose Park (10-5) at Fontwell 3m 2f hcp chs 0-100 (4) gd in May, 10 ran.
Father Tom (IRE) 7-1 (10-12) Always in rear, badly hampered 11th, mistake 14th, 6th of 17, 46l behind Sam Adamson (9-11) at Worcester 2m 7f hcp chs 0-90 (5) gd in Sept.
Reflex Blue 20-1 (10-1) Tracked leaders, mistake and lost place 12th, weakened 4 out, 6th of 12, 23l behind Terramarique (11-1) at Huntingdon 3m nov hcp chs 0-105 (4) gf in Sept.
