held up, jumped right and reminder 4th, lost touch and pulled up before 8th
led until 1st, tracked leaders, pushed along before 8th, outpaced after 4 out, well beaten 4th before next
chased leader, hit 5th, led after 4th, driven and edged right flat, headed towards finish
tracked leaders, not fluent 3rd, mistake next, not fluent 10th, went 2nd when mistake 3 out, not fluent last, edged left flat, stayed on to lead towards finish
held up, mistake 8th, soon weakened, tailed off
jumped slightly left, led 1st, clear 3rd until before 8th then started jumping badly left, headed after 4 out, lost 2nd next, no extra last
This looks wide-open even though only three of these have previous experience over fences. Of those, Down Time has a lot more on his plate than when just scraping home at Downpatrick while Uhlan Bute is penalised for last week's success at Bangor. ST JOHNS POINT was third to Upswing on his fencing bow at Worcester last month. The winner went very close in a competitive handicap at Cheltenham last week so the form stands up and Charlie Longsdon's charge will know more today. Chicoria goes well fresh and Handmaid had useful form over hurdles, though hasn't won since May of last year.
Handmaid 9-2fav (11-0) Prominent until 1st, chased leaders, lost place before 4 out, tailed off 3 out, last of 9, dist behind Still Believing (10-11) at Ludlow 3m hcp (3) gd in Oct.
Uhlan Bute (FR) 11-4fav (11-1) Led 2nd, made rest, ridden clear last, eased run-in, comfortable, won at Bangor 2m 4f hcp (4) sft in Nov beating Take The Crown (10-8) by 11l, 7 ran.
St Johns Point (IRE) 14-1 (10-3) Pressed leader until pushed along before 4 out, challenged again 3 out, led and bumped 2 out, edged left and headed before last, one pace flat, 3rd of 7, 9 3/4l behind Upswing (11-1) at Worcester 2m 7f hcp (3) gs in Oct.
Chicoria (IRE) 14-1 (11-5) Behind, headway into mid-division when mistake 2 out, soon outpaced, never on terms, 9th of 19, 25 1/4l behind Roll On Ruby (10-3) at Cheltenham 3m hcp (3) gd in Apr.
Down Time (USA) 7-1 (11-12) Tracked leaders on outer, slow jump 6 out and pushed along, ridden in 5th next, under pressure and plenty to do in 4th when slight mistake 2 out, headway into 3rd on inner entering straight, soon 2nd, stayed on well to lead on inner near line, won at Downpatrick 2m 7f hcp gd in Oct beating One Fine Morning (11-11) by nk, 10 ran.
Little Windmill (IRE) 10-1 (11-7) In rear, mistakes, never in contention, well beaten after 3 out, 6th of 9, 20 3/4l behind Giveitachance (11-7) at Huntingdon 3m 1f hcp (4) gs in Nov.
