held up in touch and keen, went 3rd 2 out, kept on same pace
tracked leaders in 3rd, weakened from 2 out
led to 4 out, weakened before 2 out
held up in rear, headway before 3 out, went 2nd before 2 out, kept on and held towards finish
tracked leader, led 4 out, clear before 3 out, ridden before last, kept on gamely towards finish
Only five runners are entered in this finale but it's a trappy little contest. Arctic Court beat Capellanus by half-a-length over course and distance in November but it would be no surprise if the top weight turned the form around on this easier surface as he is fractionally better off now. Tantamount is heading in the right direction and the Aintree winner is worth a try over this longer trip but ALDERLEY ROVER looks the one to beat as he was returning from a lengthy absence when scoring under similar conditions at Bangor and looks capable of defying a 6lb higher mark. Any Given Moment is often placed but still 19lb higher than when scoring over track and trip 12 months ago.
Capellanus (IRE) 12-1 (10-7) Held up in rear, mistake 3rd, modest progress before 3 out, no impression, 8th of 11, 20l behind Like Minded (11-1) at Aintree 2m 4f hcp hdl (2) sft in Dec.
Alderley Rover (IRE) 20-1 (10-13) Held up in rear, headway after 3 out, led before next, not fluent last, all out, held on under pressure (6 hurdles omitted), won at Bangor 3m hcp hdl 0-135 (3) sft in Nov beating Beauboreen (10-11) by 3/4l, 9 ran.
Arctic Court (IRE) 7-2 (10-12) Mid-division, headway 3 out, soon chasing leaders, led last, stayed on strongly, won at Musselburgh 3m hcp hdl (2) gd in Nov beating Capellanus (10-11) by 1/2l, 8 ran.
Tantamount 9-1 (10-12) Held up in rear, not alwyas fluent, hampered 8th, soon made progress, challenged 3 out, led before next, ran on well to draw clear flat, won at Aintree 2m 4f nov hcp hdl (3) sft in Dec beating Dundee (11-2) by 9l, 9 ran.
Any Given Moment (IRE) 7-1 (10-12) Held up mid-division, headway before 3 out, went 4th before 2 out, one pace, 3rd of 9, 8l behind Timesishard (11-12) at Doncaster 3m hcp hdl 0-125 (3) gd in Dec.