held up, went 2nd at 12th, challenged 3 out, soon ridden, led last, kept on well
not jumped well, chased leaders, reminders after 10th, soon weakened, behind when pulled up 3 out
whipped around start, tracked leader, led 3rd, ridden 3 out, soon under pressure, headed last, no extra flat
led, headed 3rd, tracked leader, ridden approaching 4 out, kept on from 2 out
This should not take too much winning and John Rich is the pick over Jaseur and Quincy's Perk. John Rich arrived here in October with winning form in the point-to-point field to his credit and was not disgraced, jumping round in fourth place. He somehow managed to get over the Haydock fences next time when playing second fiddle to Father Mulcahy in one of the poorest chases ever seen there, and the fact that he is selected here shows just how modest this contest is. At least he has more scope than his rivals, the best of whom may be Jaseur, who has his first outing over fences since June 2002. A winner on the Flat in his time, he will probably find conditions too fast anyway. That leaves Quincy's Perk who was beaten a distance on his first run under rules at Southwell 11 days ago. All in all, this is a dire contest, with John Rich the best of a bad bunch.