soon well behind, headway to chase leading pair after 3 out, stayed on under pressure from next, kept on well flat, nearest finish
tracked leaders, ridden to lead 11th, strongly pressed 2 out, driven, blundered and narrowly headed last, rallied to regain lead towards finish
led to 3rd, tracked leader, led after 10th to next, chased leaders until weakened 3 out, no chance when jumped right last
held up in touch, headway to track leaders 5th, chased winner 11th, challenging when mistake 4 out, upside 2 out, narrow lead last, headed towards finish
jumped poorly and never going well in rear, blundered 7th, struggling 10th, tailed off when pulled up approaching 4 out
held up in touch, ridden and struggling 11th, tailed off
led 3rd to after 10th, weakened rapidly, tailed off when fell heavily 11th
Paul Nicholls excels with horses of Geeveem's type and the former pointer is preferred to Lawyer Des Ormeaux and Wild Is the Wind, who are closely matched on what they have shown so far. Wild Is The Wind ran well under a penalty when third to yes Sir at Bangor on his penultimate outing. However, he failed to sparkle as expected on his reappearance and now has a little to prove. Lawyer Des Ormeaux has shown a similar level of progression and is 1lb better off with Wild Is The Wind from the last time they met. It is likely that they will have a good battle between them today and it will be interesting to see which way the penny drops. Nevertheless, Geeveem has a touch more scope for further development and as he is sure to have well schooled over practice fences at home, this Irish import is taken to get his season off to a flyer here.
Wild Is The Wind (FR) 9-4 (11-2) Always prominent, chased winner 13th until blundered 4 out, regained 2nd approaching 2 out, no impression, 2nd of 8, 7l behind Best Profile (10-12) at Stratford 2m 7f nov chs (3) gd in Oct.
Geeveem (IRE) 4-6fav (11-12) Chased leaders, ridden 4 out, weakened from next, 4th of 11, 29l behind Sotovik (9-13) at Ayr 3m hcp hdl 0-125 (3) gs in Apr.
Just A Splash (IRE) 11-1 (11-12) Tracked leaders, jumped slowly 7th, ridden next, weakening when mistake 9th, very tired when fell at the last in race won by Ice Melted (11-4) at Towcester 2m 3f hcp chs 0-105 (4) gs in Oct, 10 ran.
Lawyer Des Ormeaux (FR) 11-2 (11-0) Tracked leaders, led 3rd, headed 3 out, soon weakened, 3rd of 5, 17l behind Alright Now M'Lad (11-0) at Wetherby 2m 7f beg chs (4) sft in Oct.
Our Mr Navigator (IRE) 16-1 (11-0) Jumped left throughout, held up behind leaders, chased winner from 11th, no chance with winner from 4 out, 2nd of 6, 18l behind Castlemore (11-0) at Exeter 2m 7f beg chs (E) frm in Oct '05.
Solid As A Rock 33-1 (11-7) Raced wide, always in mid-division, 11th of 18, 31l behind Imperial Commander (10-7) at Cheltenham 2m nhf (4) gs in Oct.
Spring Brook (IRE) 50-1 (10-7) Behind, tailed off when pulled up 5 out in race won by Toemac (10-12) at Plumpton 2m 5f nh nov hdl (4) gd in Oct, 13 ran.
Lord David (IRE) 28-1 (10-13) Tracked leaders, blundered badly 9th and pulled up at the 10th in race won by Down The Stretch (10-13) at Exeter 2m 7f beg chs (3) gf, 9 ran.
