chased leaders, lost place 9th, weakened 14th, soon tailed off
chased leaders, driven and not keen from 13th, mistake next, pulled up before 4 out
held up last pair, headway from 14th, chased leading pair next, went 2nd before 2 out, every chance from last, no extra towards finish
not always fluent, held up in last pair, brief effort 4 out, soon weakened
close up, mistake 9th, blundered 12th, chasing leading pair when blundered 4 out and weakened
pressed leader, challenged from 9th, led 3 out, joined and pressed from next, hard driven flat, caught near finish
jumped well, led to 3 out, outpaced before next, rallied gamely flat to regain lead near finish
A tricky handicap chase to end the card and a tentative vote is given to Radcliffe, Charango Star and Keltic Lord are live dangers. The Venetia Williams trained eight-year-old looked in need of his recent outing at Bangor and we should see a much improved performance this afternoon. He jumped superbly when winning a similar race at Ludlow last season and if back to his best he will take all the beating. Keltic Lord was in great form earlier in the season and may need to drop a couple of pounds before winning again, but he should still be in the shake up. Charango Star looks a bigger threat having been going very sweetly last time before getting carried out by a loose horse. At the foot of the handicap Tommy Carson demands respect as well, but if Radcliffe can return to his best form of last season he will be hard to beat.
Twisted Logic (IRE) 11-1 (11-12) Held up, last, ridden and lost touch after 7th and pulled up at the 13th in race won by Snowy Ford (11-8) at Fontwell 3m 2f hcp chs 0-125 (D) gd, 7 ran.
Prokofiev (USA) 11-2 (11-9) With leader, ridden approaching 14th, weakened 4 out, 3rd of 7, well behind Snowy Ford (11-8) at Fontwell 3m 2f hcp chs 0-125 (D) gd.
Keltic Lord 2-1fav (11-10) Mid-division, ridden and headway after 8th, kept on same pace from next, 3rd of 9, 10l behind Glacial Delight (11-12) at Exeter 2m 6f nov hcp hdl 0-100 (E) frm.
Charango Star 4-1 (10-12) Mid-division, prominent and going well when carried out 5 out in race won by State of Play (10-10) at Chepstow 3m nov chs (D) gs, 10 ran.
Radcliffe (IRE) 9-1 (10-5) Led to 6th, led again 9th to 10th, ridden 3 out, soon weakened, 4th of 10, 14l behind Ebony Light (10-9) at Bangor 3m hcp chs 0-125 (D) gs.
Midnight Gunner 9-1 (11-9) Always towards rear, behind when pulled up at the 14th in race won by Maxie McDonald (11-9) at Ludlow 3m hcp chs 0-105 (E) gd in May, 13 ran.
Tommy Carson 7-2 (10-11) Tracked leader, lost place 10th, ridden 11th, chased winner again from 13th, no chance, 2nd of 7, 6l behind Mr Splodge (10-12) at Plumpton 3m 2f hcp chs 0-110 (E) gf in Sept.
