held up in rear, mistake 8th, hit 12th, headway 14th, led 4 out, bumped 3 out, mistake next, headed approaching last, no impression on winner flat
held up towards rear, headway 12th, not fluent next, challenging when bumped 3 out, led before last, ridden clear flat
held up in rear, not fluent 10th, never on terms, well beaten 4 out
jumped left, prominent, led 4th, headed after next, led 8th, headed 4 out, beaten after 3 out, weakened into 4th after last
led until 4th, led after next, headed 8th, mistake 10th, not fluent 12th, losing place when blundered 5 out, pulled up before 2 out
tracked leaders, not fluent 6th, jumped big and ridden 13th, soon lost place, well beaten 4 out, plugged on
tracked leaders, lost place approaching 13th, mistake 5 out, modest 5th 4 out, no impression and well beaten after, tailed off
in touch, closed when slightly hampered after 10th, lost place from 16th
mid-division, headway approaching 13th, outpaced 16th, stayed on from 3 out, went 3rd after last, closing on 2nd towards finish, no impression on winner
Hey Big Spender won a Grade 3 at Warwick last year off an 11lb higher mark but his form this season has been very disappointing. Michel Le Bon has been pulled up in both starts since finishing second in a Listed race at Wincanton in November while this is probably too far for Idarah and Tartak has spent most of his career over shorter trips, though was fourth behind Katenko over 3m1f at Sandown in January. SONA SASTA was only sixth behind Hey Big Spender in that Warwick race and is worse off at the weights here but he did win on his reappearance at Chepstow and ran well until running out of steam in the Welsh National there subsequently. He might just retain more ability than the majority of these. Both Mortimers Cross and Desperate Dex stay well but are the senior members of this particular group and usually compete at a lower level.
Hey Big Spender (IRE) 4-1 (11-5) Close up, with leader 6th, led 7th, headed 8th, ridden before 2 out, no extra run-in, 5th of 7, 14l behind Molotof (11-0) at Warwick 2m 4f hcp chs (2) hvy in Feb.
Michel Le Bon (FR) 3-1fav (11-7) Mid-division, mistakes, reminders 7th, headway approaching 9th, lost place when jumped slowly 11th, pulled up before 13th, in a race won by Master Overseer (11-11) at Wincanton 3m 1f hcp chs 0-145 (2) hvy in Jan, 10 ran.
Idarah (USA) 20-1 (11-3) Always behind, struggling 5 out, pulled up before last, in a race won by Vino Griego (11-3) at Ascot 3m lstd hcp chs (1) sft in Feb, 9 ran.
Tartak (FR) 20-1 (10-4) Mid-division on outside, lost place and behind 11th, plugged on from 3 out, never near leaders, 7th of 16, 25l behind Katenko (10-13) at Cheltenham 2m 5f hcp chs G3 (1) hvy in Jan.
Fortification (USA) 16-1 (11-1) Led until 2nd, remained prominent, weakened 4 out, tailed off from next, 4th of 5, 41l behind Lively Baron (10-5) at Sandown 3m 5f hcp chs 0-150 (2) sft in Dec.
Sona Sasta (IRE) 12-1 (9-7) Held up towards rear, headway before 2nd, weakened approaching 5 out, fell 4 out, in a race won by Monbeg Dude (10-1) at Chepstow 3m 5f hcp chs G3 (1) hvy in Jan, 17 ran.
Mortimers Cross 5-1 (10-8) Blundered 1st, tracked leaders, joined leader after 3rd, slow 6th, led next, headed after 8th, every chance 4 out, soon driven and weakened, last of 5, well behind Carruthers (11-5) at Ffos Las 3m 1f hcp chs 0-140 (3) hvy in Dec.
Desperate Dex (IRE) 7-2 (10-0) Held up on outside, headway 2nd, challenged 3 out, held by winner before last, stayed on, 2nd of 10, 1 1/2l behind Master Overseer (11-11) at Wincanton 3m 1f hcp chs 0-145 (2) hvy in Jan.
Posh Bird (IRE) 16-1 (10-13) Towards rear, pushed along before 16th, never dangerous, 9th of 14, 40l behind Chac Du Cadran (10-7) at Catterick 3m 6f hcp chs 0-135 (3) sft in Jan.
