tracked leaders, went 2nd at 8th, landed awkward next, tracked leaders, led 2 out, ridden and ran on, readily
close up, pushed along and weakened 2 out
in touch in rear, headway 3 out, ridden to chase winner approaching last, stayed on one pace
towards rear, outpaced 9th, ridden and headway approaching last, stayed on towards finish
tracked leader, lost 2nd briefly 8th, ridden 2 out, kept on same pace
keen, led, ridden and headed 2 out, landed very awkward next, soon weakened
Some powerful yards have runners in this. Lallygag, a bumper and hurdles winner, represents Paul Nicholls while Nicky Henderson saddles both Persian Time and Russian Ruler with the former probably having a bit more scope than the latter. Dan Skelton runs Richhill and he’s one of only two with chasing experience, though failed to impress at Kempton. DJELO rallied to beat the well-backed Master Chewy at Aintree with the pair pulling well clear. He’s been raised 7lb for that but may be one to follow.
Djelo (FR) 7-2 (11-12) Tracked leaders, went 2nd 4 out, led omitted 2 out, ridden and headed before omitted last, rallied run-in and led again towards finish, gamely (three fences in home straight omitted due to low sun), won at Aintree 2m hcp (3) sft in Nov beating Master Chewy (12-1) by 3/4l, 9 ran.
Lallygag (GER) 9-2 (11-9) Held up in behind leaders, headway approaching 2 out, ridden before last, no extra after last, 8th of 16, 11l behind Pinnacle Peak (10-2) at Cheltenham 2m 4f hcp (3) gd in Oct.
Persian Time 9-2 (11-12) Held up behind leaders, closed before 7th, led after 4 out, ridden when jumped left and not fluent last, headed flat, no impression on winner towards finish, 2nd of 5, 2 1/4l behind Hugos New Horse (11-12) at Ayr 2m 4f (3) gs in Apr.
Russian Ruler (IRE) 10-11fav (11-10) Chased leader, led 5th, pressed for lead before 2 out, soon pushed along to assert, 1 length ahead approaching last, stayed on well run-in, won at Kempton 2m (4) gd in Apr beating Alien Storm (11-10) by 2 3/4l, 8 ran.
Richhill (IRE) 11-2 (12-0) Tracked clear leader, led 4 out, ridden and headed approaching 3 out, weakened next, 5th of 11, 26 3/4l behind Egbert (11-10) at Kempton 2m 4f hcp (4) gd in Nov.
Hecouldbetheone (IRE) 18-1 (12-2) Close up, pushed along 3 out, soon outpaced, ridden and rallied approaching last, 5th of 7, 14 1/2l behind West End Boy (10-7) at Plumpton 2m hcp (4) gs in Nov.
