held up in touch, headway to track leaders 5th, ridden and weakened 4 out
held up in rear, headway 8th, chased winner 3 out, hung left at last, no extra towards finish
tracked leader, led 9th, blundered next, driven out flat
led to 9th, outpaced from 3 out
tracked leaders, lost place approaching 9th
Pams Oak is preferred to Cross The Highman and Uncle Max. Pams Oak jumped particularly well at Sedgefield on his most recent start and as a lightly raced individual, more improvement can be anticipated. Cross The Highman has had plenty of chances and is not one to be trusted implicitly. Three runners-up berths in his last three races just about says it all as his resolution is not the greatest when push comes to shove. Uncle Max lost his way when trained by Nigel Twiston Davies but he won impressively for new connections at Bangor-On-Dee. A big rise in the weights is probably fair comment and any further rain would not inconvenience. Civil Gent was disappointing last week and might be one to oppose while Noble Colours is hard to make a case for. Pams Oak looks on the upgrade and we will not oppose.
Uncle Max (IRE) 8-1 (11-7) Held up towards outside, not fluent 7th, led 12th, drew clear from after 3 out, won at Bangor 2m 4f hcp chs 0-100 (4) gs beating Firion King (10-0) by 25l, 10 ran.
Cross The Highman (IRE) 4-1 (11-2) Prominent, chased winner after 14th, ridden and every chance 4 out, 3 lengths adrift when mistake last, hung left and no extra flat, 2nd of 7, 7l behind Lady of Scarvagh (10-9) at Worcester 2m 7f beg chs (4) gd.
Pams Oak 6-1 (11-7) Tracked leaders, blundered 5th, led before 10th, ridden and stayed on well from 2 out, won at Sedgefield 2m 5f hcp chs 0-105 (4) gf beating Mandingo Chief (11-12) by 2 1/2l, 12 ran.
Civil Gent (IRE) 5-1 (11-4) Tracked leaders, lost place 12th, 6th of 9, well behind Mollycarrsbrekfast (10-3) at Market Rasen 3m 1f hcp chs 0-90 (5) gs.
Noble Colours 80-1 (9-7) In touch, weakened approaching 5 out, 7th of 14, 37l behind Magic Route (10-4) at Southwell 2m 4f hcp chs 0-90 (5) gd.
