tracked winner to 6th and dropped rear, jumped slow 8th, well behind from 10th, kept on from 3 out but never dangerous
tracked leaders, led 7th, headed approaching 3 out, gradually weakened, virtually pulled up flat
led until 7th, stayed prominent, led again approaching 3 out, clear before last easily
close up, ridden along before 4 out, kept on under pressure, in 2nd when fell 2 out
held up last, in touch, chased leaders 9th, ridden 3 out, left in 2nd 2 out, no chance with winner
Mighty Strong was impressive last time and can pay to follow again, with Bush Park, Montreal and Russian Gigolo three obstacles in his path. Mighty Strong put in a great round of jumping when successful over the course and distance 10 days ago, and a repeat of that effort should suffice. Prior to that, Nicky Henderson's nine-year-old had collected the Lionel Vick Trophy here for the second year running, but his latest victory had his trainer purring with pleasure. Mighty Strong appears to have put his past jumping errors behind him and should be followed. Bush Park may find the ground a bit lively but his stable are in form, and Montreal should not be left out, given his record at the likes of Cheltenham and Aintree. He might not get the strong pace that he needs here though and his jumping has let him down of late as well. Russian Gigolo beat Mount Prague on his debut over fences at Uttoxeter, and a good run by the latter in the 2:05 will advertise his claims here. He and the rest should not be good enough to deal with Mighty Strong though, and he is a confident choice.
