held up in rear, hampered 5th, headway approaching 3 out, never on terms, no impression last
held up towards rear, not fluent 9th, headway approaching 3 out, led 2 out, clear flat, stayed on gamely
held up in touch in mid-division, mistake 5th, headway 9th, challenged 3 out, no impression on winner flat, stayed on
tracked leaders, hampered 2nd, lost place 5th, ridden 7th, no impression 3 out
mid-division, headway 5th, challenged 2 out, ridden when hit last, no impression on winner flat, stayed on
held up towards rear, hampered 5th, headway 8th, no extra 2 out
in touch, badly hampered and lost place 2nd, outpaced before 3 out, never back on terms, plugged on
took keen hold, led 2nd, not fluent 3rd, headed next, left in lead after 5th, headed before next, not fluent 9th, soon ridden and weakened, pulled up before 3 out
mid-division, headway on outside 7th, lost place after 9th, well beaten 3 out
held up in rear, headway 9th, no impression on leaders 2 out, stayed on flat
pressed leader, led 4th, hampered by loose horse and headed after next, led again before next, headed 2 out, weakened approaching last
mid-division, fell 5th
held up in touch, weakened approaching 3 out, tailed off
held up, mistake 1st, steady headway from 6th, no impression on leaders 2 out
mid-division, hampered 2nd, not fluent 7th, challenged 9th, weakened before 2 out, pulled up near finish
tracked leaders, every chance 3 out, 4th and no extra last
led until fell 2nd
These qualifiers are a nightmare to unravel at the best of times and even more so at this stage of the campaign. Many of these will be back over fences in the near future, including recent Ffos Las winner Le Beau Bai who'll be bidding to repeat last year's victory in the Welsh National. Stow started favourite in that Ffos Las race and won over this C&D in February. He could reverse the form with Richard Lee's runner while Bakbenscher made a promising return from injury at Chepstow and Duke Of Monmouth ploughed through the mud to score at Warwick earlier this month and has more scope than most of these. Curtain Razer is also lightly-raced while Ballybough Pat has been in good form but the booking of Barry Geraghty for DESTROYER DEPLOYED catches the eye. Now visored, he's fancied to reverse Towcester running with Benbane Head on better terms and this longer trip should be within his range this season.
American Trilogy (IRE) 9-1 (10-10) Held up in rear, headway approaching 3 out, weakened next, 6th of 10, 22l behind Ely Brown (9-10) at Aintree 3m hcp hdl (2) sft in Oct.
Fair Along (GER) 20-1 (11-0) Tracked leader, weakened 4 out, 4th of 6, 45l behind Tidal Bay (11-0) at Wetherby 3m 1f hdl G2 (1) gs.
Cucumber Run (IRE) 12-1 (11-11) Tracked leaders, not fluent 3 out, weakened next, 11th of 23, 49l behind Bondage (10-13) at Cheltenham 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-140 (3) gs in Oct.
Le Beau Bai (FR) 25-1 (11-12) With leader, led approaching 4th, not fluent and headed 6th, led after 9th, headed 3 out, battled back most gamely to lead again last, stayed on, won at Ffos Las 3m hcp hdl 0-135 (3) sft beating Valley Lad (10-9) by 1 1/4l, 9 ran.
Ballybough Pat (IRE) 4-1 (11-4) Chased leaders, went 2nd 7th, led 2 out, ridden and headed last, not pace of winner flat, 2nd of 9, 6l behind Wonderful Charm (11-7) at Chepstow 2m 4f nov hdl G2 (1) gs in Oct.
Bakbenscher 25-1 (10-13) Held up towards rear, pushed along and some headway when blundered 4 out, hit next, stayed on before last, 5th and no impression flat, 5th of 13, 10l behind Lamb Or Cod (10-0) at Chepstow 2m 4f hcp hdl Grade 3 (1) gs in Oct.
What An Oscar (IRE) 25-1 (11-2) Prominent, ridden and lost place before 6th, well behind next, pulled up after, in a race won by Bondage (10-13) at Cheltenham 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-140 (3) gs in Oct, 23 ran.
Lundy Sky 6-1 (10-0) Given clear lead start, ridden and narrowly headed before hit 3 out, led again next, kept on gamely until no extra and headed final 100 yards, kept trying, 2nd of 6, 1/2l behind Stars Du Granits (10-1) at Exeter 2m 7f hcp hdl (2) sft.
No Secrets (IRE) 28-1 (11-0) Last pair, hit 4th, blundeered 6th, lost touch before 8th, tailed off when blundered 11th, pulled up soon after, in a race won by Walkon (11-0) at Exeter 2m 3f nov chs (2) gs in Dec, 6 ran.
Counting House (IRE) 5-1 (11-2) Held up in touch in rear, pushed along approaching 10th, went 2nd before last, stayed on, no impression on winner, 2nd of 6, 3 1/2l behind Arkose (10-5) at Hereford 3m 2f hcp hdl 0-135 (3) gs.
Benbane Head (USA) 16-1 (10-0) Raced wide, chased leaders, led 4 out, hit 2 out and headed soon after, chased leader and still every chance approaching last, no extra in 4th run-in, 4th of 13, 7l behind Goulanes (10-2) at Cheltenham 3m 1f Listed hcp hdl (1) sft.
Curtain Razer (IRE) 2-1 (10-12) Tracked leader until before 3 out, pushed along and weakened before 2 out, 3rd of 8, 33l behind Princely Player (11-5) at Exeter 2m 3f nov hdl (4) sft in May.
Wellforth (IRE) 33-1 (10-11) In rear and soon not going well, pulled up before 8th, in a race won by Balthazar King (11-4) at Cheltenham 3m hcp chs (2) gs in Oct, 19 ran.
Destroyer Deployed 10-3fav (11-7) Raced wide, chased leaders, slipped going into 2nd, led 3 out, pressed and went left next, edged left and headed just before last, 3rd and one pace flat, 3rd of 10, 1l behind Benbane Head (11-11) at Towcester 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-120 (4) gs.
Tarbeck 66-1 (10-12) Made all, pressed from 2 out, soon ridden, kept on gamely, held on well last 50 yards, won at Hereford 2m 6f nh nov hdl (4) sft in Dec beating Miss Milborne (10-5) by 3l, 13 ran.
Stow 5-2fav (10-4) Tracked leaders, not fluent 3rd, led 3 out, ridden and headed when hit 2 out, weakened flat, 4th of 9, 10l behind Le Beau Bai (11-12) at Ffos Las 3m hcp hdl 0-135 (3) sft.
Duke Of Monmouth (IRE) 3-1 (10-5) Led to 7th, led again before 5 out, hit 3 out, kept on well from last, won at Warwick 3m 1f nh nov hdl (4) sft beating Definite Chance (10-12) by 3 1/2l, 10 ran.
