held up last but in touch, headway into 3rd 7th, disputing close 2nd when fell 13th
tracked leading pair until 7th, outpaced in 4th 10th, mistake 12th, left modest 3rd and slightly hampered next, no chance with leading duo, tailed off
tracked winner, hit 12th, pushed along before 3 out, driven and effort between last two, held when hit last, no extra run-in
chased leading trio, hung left on paddock bend and lost placed after 6th, jumped slowly next, lost touch 10th, pulled up before 12th
jumped left on occasions, not fluent 1st, travelling strongly when went left 3 out, hit next, in command last, ridden and stayed on strongly run-in
There may only be five runners in this but it's a cracking contest. Splash Of Ginge beat seasoned handicappers in a Grade handicap at Cheltenham on New Year's Day. Lines through Vibrato Valtat and Chris P Green suggest IRISH SAINT should have the beating of Plumpton winner Grumeti and he already had the race sewn up when his nearest challenger fell at the last at Ascot last month. He gets the nod here ahead of Champagne West, beaten by the selection's stablemate Ptit Zig at Cheltenham last time. Gitane Du Berlais has untapped potential but his jumping was very novicey at Limerick and he won't get away with similar errors over these fences.
Champagne West (IRE) 7-2 (11-7) Tracked leaders, went close 2nd after 9th, left in lead 12th, headed and not fluent last, no impression flat, one pace, 2nd of 7, 6l behind Ptit Zig (11-7) at Cheltenham 2m 5f nov chs G2 (1) gs.
Grumeti 11-4 (11-5) Tracked leader, driven approaching omitted 3 out, ridden to lead before 2 out, hard pressed flat, stayed on well towards finish, won at Plumpton 2m 1f nov chs (3) sft beating Chris Pea Green (11-10) by 1 1/4l, 4 ran.
Irish Saint (FR) 6-5fav (11-3) Tracked leaders on inside, 2nd before 12th, travelling well when led 2 out, shaken up and came clear when left further clear at the last, won at Ascot 2m 5f grad ch (2) gs in Dec beating Thomas Crapper (10-10) by 13l, 5 ran.
Splash of Ginge 9-2fav (10-9) Always prominent, led before last, stayed on well, won at Cheltenham 2m 5f hcp chs G3 (1) gs beating Hunt Ball (11-9) by 3 1/2l, 13 ran.
Gitane Du Berlais (FR) 4-7fav (10-10) Made all, clear at stages, steadied and jumped slightly left at times, in command when steadied into and mistake last, left further clear, stayed on well, easily, won at Limerick 2m 3f beg chs in Dec beating Feenakilmeedy (11-7) by 18l, 10 ran.
