chased clear leading trio, closed 4th, ridden 3 out, blundered next, soon weakened
led, not fluent 3rd, headed 4 out, outpaced next, plugged on
in rear, closed 4th, chased leader after 3 out, ridden and every chance next, led before last, driven and edged right flat
well in rear, behind when pulled up 4th
chased leading pair until ridden 4th, pulled up before next
disputed lead until led 4 out, jumped left and joined 2 out, headed when jumped left last, switched left flat, kept on same pace
Baltic Pathfinder has won three times here over fences but his hurdling record leaves a lot to be desired. Flat winner Pixie Cut also remains a maiden over timber but Zero Visibility scored by seven lengths at Fontwell last month though, like Beyondtemptation, is racing from out of the handicap here. BARABOY was behind Khelac at Carlisle two runs ago but stepped up on that effort when running De Chissler to three lengths at Ayr. Dropped a couple of pounds since, Barry Murtagh's four-year-old can finally shed his maiden tag.
Pixie Cut (IRE) 25-1 (10-12) Chased leader, weakened before 4 out, 6th of 14, 45l behind Molo (10-12) at Newcastle 2m 4f mdn hdl (5) sft in Nov.
Baltic Pathfinder (IRE) 9-2 (11-0) Led to 3 out, weakened before 2 out, 4th of 5, 50l behind Spanish Fleet (12-2) at Carlisle 2m 3f nov hcp hdl 0-110 (4) sft in Nov.
Baraboy (IRE) 14-1 (11-4) Held up in rear, headway before 3 out, chased winner before last, kept on and always held, 2nd of 5, 3l behind De Chissler (10-9) at Ayr 2m hcp hdl 0-100 (5) gs in Nov.
Khelac 20-1 (11-9) Tracked leaders, ridden 3 out, weakened before next, 7th of 8, 41l behind Helamis (10-11) at Huntingdon 2m hcp hdl (5) sft in Nov.
Zero Visibility (IRE) 4-1 (9-7) Led, left in clear lead 2 out, hit last, idled badly and driven flat, always doing enough, won at Fontwell 2m 2f hcp hdl 0-100 (5) hvy in Nov beating Frank N Fair (10-10) by 7l, 6 ran.
Beyondtemptation 20-1 (10-0) Led, headed before 3 out, ridden and weakened before 2 out, 4th of 8, 35l behind Notonebuttwo (9-12) at Newcastle 3m hcp hdl 0-100 (5) sft in Nov.