chased leaders, led travelling well after 4 out, clear pecked 2 out, kept on strongly
held up in last pair, headway approaching 3 out, 4th and held when pecked 3 out, kept on into 3rd run-in
always in rear, tailed off 4 out, pulled up before 2 out
held up in touch, lost place 6th, tailed off 10th
held up in touch, headway chasing leaders 8th, 2nd before 3 out until before next, weakened run-in
raced wide throughout, with leader, led briefly 8th, weakened before 3 out
led, awkward 5th, headed briefly 8th, headed after 4 out, lost 2nd before next, 2nd again before 2 out, no chance with winner
chased leaders on inside, reminders before 10th, weakened before next
Earlshill completed a double over hurdles in the spring and was making his chasing bow in a handicap at Huntingdon when stumbling badly and had to be pulled up. He was well supported there so is obviously thought capable of going well from this mark. First Drift is unbeaten between the flags and in bumpers and won twice over hurdles including around here. He makes his debut over regulation fences but Arctic Gold has plenty of experience over the bigger obstacles. However, he's had problems with his jumping and made too many mistakes again at Cheltenham last time. DROVERS LANE made an impressive chasing debut at Huntingdon and was well supported when sent to Aintree last month where he was well in touch when blundering badly 3 out. He's taken to get back to winning ways as Curious Carlos has had his limitations exposed recently.
Drovers Lane (IRE) 4-1 (11-8) Held up in touch, tracked leaders 4 out, blundered and lost place next, weakened from 2 out, 7th of 10, 22 3/4l behind Molly The Dolly (11-0) at Aintree 3m 1f hcp (3) gd in Oct.
Kayf Blanco 9-2 (11-12) Chased leaders, bumped 4th, mistake 5th, lost place 8th, never back on terms, 6th of 9, 15l behind Princeton Royale (11-7) at Stratford 2m 3f hcp (3) gs in Apr.
First Drift 10-11fav (12-0) Led, pressed when not fluent last, soon ridden, kept on and headed towards finish, 2nd of 6, 3/4l behind Or De Vassy (11-7) at Market Rasen 2m 1f (4) gs in Mar.
Curious Carlos 14-1 (11-12) Chased leaders, under pressure after 3 out, soon no impression, left in 4th at last, 4th of 6, 16 1/2l behind Lillington (11-4) at Lingfield 2m hcp (3) sft in Nov.
Lisdoonvarna Lad (IRE) 12-1 (11-1) Led or disputed lead, blundered 5th, narrow advantage 6th, headed after 8th, ridden and outpaced by clear pair after 3 out, no chance after, lost modest 3rd near finish, last of 4, 30 1/2l behind Kalashnikov (11-1) at Warwick 2m (3) gd in Nov.
Arctic Gold (IRE) 14-1 (11-0) Held up, mistake 5th, jumped left 10th, not fluent 4 out, outpaced next, soon weakened, last of 5, 22 1/4l behind Lil Rockerfeller (11-5) at Cheltenham 3m (2) gd in Oct.
Soupy Soups (IRE) 11-2 (11-12) Led, ridden and headed bypassing omitted last, kept on, held towards finish, 2nd of 9, 2l behind Cloth Cap (11-10) at Stratford 2m 7f hcp (4) gd in Nov.
Earlshill (IRE) 10-3 (11-9) Tracked leaders, jumped slowly 5th, close up in 4th when slipped badly and almost unseated rider on bend after 3 out, not recover, pulled up before next, at Huntingdon 2m 4f hcp (4) gd in Oct.
