pecked 1st, held up in rear but in touch, mistake 4th, not fluent 8th, outpaced in 5th place at 10th, kept on flat, almost snatched poor 4th
held up tracking leaders on inside, mistake 10th, ridden and no impression in 4th place 4 out, beaten when went right next
held up tracking leaders, went 2nd 4 out, travelling best when led 2 out, soon clear, went right last
pressed leader, dived at and led 4th, narrowly headed briefly before 4 out, led again 4 out, driven and under strong pressure when headed and blundered 2 out, stayed on same pace
tracked leaders, mistake 2nd, lost place 4th, slow and struggling 9th, last when blundered next, pulled up before next
slight lead until 4th, pressed leader, in narrow lead again when blundered headed and dropped to 3rd 4 out, plugged on same pace after
Midnight Sail earns full marks for consistency but that means he gets no respite from the handicapper and is 2lb higher than when second for the fourth time in a row at Doncaster last month. Delgany Gunner usually runs his race but this represents a step up in grade while Firebird Flyer is back over fences off an 11lb higher mark than when scoring at Ludlow in November. NO NO BINGO was all out to win at Hereford last time and has been raised 7lb since but that was only his fourth start over the larger obstacles and he's still heading in the right direction. He gets the vote here, though Simply Wings is proven at this level and could easily bounce back from a below-par run at Cheltenham. Lord Singer has a poor strike rate however.
Firebird Flyer (IRE) 7-2 (10-13) Held up in 6th, headway 4 out, 3rd when switched right and ridden before 2 out, weakened flat, 4th of 8, 22l behind Storm Survivor (9-10) at Doncaster 3m hcp hdl 0-145 (2) sft in Dec.
Midnight Sail 4-1 (10-11) Towards rear, headway before 8th, challenged 2 out, every chance when jumped right last, kept on and no extra towards finish, 2nd of 8, 4 1/2l behind Easter Meteor (11-6) at Doncaster 2m 3f hcp chs 0-140 (3) gs in Dec.
Simply Wings (IRE) 9-2fav (11-12) Mid-division, headway 12th, chased leaders under pressure when blundered 3 out, no impression in 4th before next, 4th of 12, 24l behind Plein Pouvoir (11-4) at Cheltenham 2m 5f cond hcp chs (4yo+) (3) sft in Dec.
Lord Singer (FR) 11-2 (11-12) Held up towards rear and keen, went 3rd before 4th, went 2nd at 6th, left in lead 9th, ridden and headed before 2 out, weakened before last, 3rd of 7, 15l behind Camden (11-7) at Plumpton 2m 4f hcp chs 0-120 (4) gs in Nov.
No No Bingo (IRE) 4-1fav (11-5) Chased leaders, went 2nd 4 out, led 3 out, ridden before joined last, held on gamely, all out, won at Hereford 2m 3f hcp chs 0-115 (4) hvy in Dec beating Ballywatt (11-12) by shd, 12 ran.
Delgany Gunner 11-2 (10-7) Slowly away, in touch, chased leaders 5th, every chance 3 out, kept on under pressure after last, 2nd of 6, 1 1/4l behind Take Over Sivola (11-1) at Lingfield 2m 4f hcp chs 0-120 (4) hvy in Dec.
