held up, headway 7th, hit 12th, soon weakened
towards rear, fell 1st
always behind, ridden approaching 11th, soon weakened, tailed off when pulled up before 5 out
tracked leaders, not fluent 3rd, lost place after 10th, tailed off when pulled up before 4 out
held up mid-division, hit 9th, headway 13th, ridden to chase winner from 4 out, hard ridden from last, stayed on towards finish
with leader, led 7th, headed 4 out, weakened 2 out
tracked leaders, hit 11th, soon weakened
led, blundered 5th, headed 7th, lost place after 10th, pulled up before 11th
tracked leaders, joined leaders 9th, ridden 2 out, stayed on towards finish
in touch, headway 5 out, led approaching next, all out
soon well behind, struggling from 6th, tailed off when pulled up before 11th
in touch, ridden approaching 4 out, soon weakened, hit next
The back-to-form Sconced makes plenty of appeal on these terms and he edges out Swallow Magic, Theatre Knight and Red Man as the selection on this occasion. Red Man has been running well of late but has not received any help from the handicapper as a result. The fact that he continually finds at least one too good tells its own story and he needs to drop a pounds in the weights before he can be seriously fancied to complete the task in hand. Theatre Knight is lightly raced and is thus open to improvement. However, he looks harshly treated for what he has achieved so far and has a bit to prove from top weight today. Swallow Magic won well at Leicester on his penultimate start and is consistent enough to be placed on the shortlist. The trip is the key to him though and, despite having bits and pieces of form that suggest he will go well, it has to be a worry that he has never yet won beyond an extended two and a half miles. Therefore, we switch to Sconced, who is a hardy perennial that has taken well to fences at this late stage in his career. Larry McGrath gets on well with eleven-year-old and, from what looks to be a very lenient mark, the partnership are fancied to register a quick-fire double after last month's win at Fakenham.
Theatre Knight (IRE) 11-2 (11-4) Tracked leaders, outpaced 10th, ran on from last to take 3rd close home, 3rd of 9, 12l behind Pass Me By (11-6) at Carlisle 3m nov hcp chs 0-115 (3) sft.
Red Man (IRE) 7-1 (10-9) Led to after 2nd, tracked leader, led again 5th, headed last, ridden and one pace flat, 2nd of 9, 5l behind Miss Pross (10-6) at Sedgefield 2m hcp chs 0-115 (4) sft.
Not A Trace (IRE) 5-2fav (11-12) Chased leaders, lost place 11th, soon behind, tailed off when pulled up 4 out in race won by No Kidding (10-3) at Musselburgh 3m hcp chs 0-95 (5) gf, 10 ran.
Cirrus (FR) 25-1 (10-9) Tracked leaders, lost place 10th, soon behind, 4th of 7, well behind Dolmur (11-10) at Doncaster 3m nov hcp chs 0-120 (D) gd in Dec.
Swallow Magic (IRE) 6-1 (11-1) Tracked winner, ridden approaching 5 out, soon outpaced, 4th of 10, 27l behind Bohemian Spirit (11-9) at Musselburgh 2m 4f amt hcp chs 0-95 (F) gf in Dec.
Another Club Royal 7-2 (11-2) Chased leaders, reminders 11th, outpaced 4th, ridden and kept on same pace from next, 4th of 10, 3 1/2l behind No Kidding (10-3) at Musselburgh 3m hcp chs 0-95 (5) gf.
Sconced (USA) 7-2 (10-5) Led to 6th, 3 lengths down when blundered 2 out, kept on well to lead run-in, won at Fakenham 3m nov hcp chs 0-105 (4) gd in Jan beating Rookery Lad (11-12) by 1 1/2l, 6 ran.
Little Flora 8-1 (11-1) In touch, lost place after 6th, 6th of 10, 26l behind Flaming Heck (11-12) at Sedgefield 2m hcp chs 0-90 (5) sft in Jan.
