chased leaders, outpaced 3 out, soon weakened
prominent, lost place 4 out, ridden and no impression approaching 2 out
held up, headway 13th, ridden to chase leaders approaching 2 out, 3rd and no impression when hit last
held up, mistake 12th, headway on outside 3 out, led between last 2, ridden and stayed on well flat
mid-division on outside, not fluent 5th, lost place 13th, soon tailed off, pulled up before 2 out
led, headed before 2 out, soon ridden and weakened
not fluent mid-division, headway 13th, challenged 4 out, led before 2 out, ridden and headed between last 2, kept on same pace flat
behind, mistake and reminders 11th, never on terms
chased leaders, outpaced 15th, soon weakened, tailed off
in touch, outpaced 3 out, soon ridden, stayed on under pressure to go 3rd after last, no impression
chased leaders to 6th, soon behind, tailed off when pulled up before 15th
SHULMIN is the tentative selection in the last with Nelliedonethat and Rival Bidder in with chances among others. The pick is a bit of a course specialist here after winning three and placing in a further two races in 10 starts. She recovered from a fall on her penultimate outing to run on really well to claim third place at Carlisle last time after some poor jumping early on. She will be carrying a career high mark here but it's just one pound above when she was last placed around here and still looks competitive in this company. A winner twice over hurdles Nelliedonethat is yet to show the same ability over the bigger obstacles. His chasing mark is still 25lbs below that of her rating over timber which seems to point to the fact there is more to come and with weight in hand on the main protagonists he has to be considered. Rival Bidder looks competitive enough here despite having to concede weight all round. He is now rated just one pound better than his last victory over fences and with ground conditions also in his plus column he has more than just a decent claim here. Ferdy Murphy's Blue Rising will come on a lot from his pipe opener last time and has a decent shout at a place at least but Shulimin is the one for us.
Rival Bidder 4-1fav (10-1) Held up mid-division, one pace from 2 out, 5th of 10, 8l behind Solway Minstrel (10-10) at Haydock 3m 1f cnd hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gf.
Heros Collonges (FR) 66-1 (10-0) In touch, soon dropped to mid-division, weakened approaching 5 out, 11th of 13, 43l behind Kandjar D'allier (11-10) at Haydock 3m hcp chs 0-130 (3) gd.
Blue Rising 13-2 (10-13) Held up, effort after 4 out, soon driven and no extra, 4th of 7, well behind Nicozetto (10-0) at Carlisle 3m 2f hcp chs 0-105 (4) hvy.
Shulmin 15-2 (10-8) Held up, effort 4 out, no impression, 3rd of 7, 9l behind Moustique de L'Isle (11-12) at Carlisle 3m 4f hcp chs 0-95 (5) sft.
Count The Cost (IRE) 7-1 (10-12) Tracked leaders, ridden 12th, tailed off when pulled up at the 14th in race won by Nicozetto (10-0) at Carlisle 3m 2f hcp chs 0-105 (4) hvy, 7 ran.
Sam Cruise 4-1jt-fav (11-2) Led to 8th, soon lost place, ridden and weakened 4 out, behind when pulled up 3 out in race won by Jane Doe (10-10) at Newcastle 3m hcp hdl 0-90 (5) gs, 17 ran.
Nelliedonethat (IRE) 9-2jt-fav (11-10) In touch, mistake 4 out, soon weakened, 5th of 15, 9l behind Smart Man (10-8) at Newcastle 3m hcp chs (5) gd in Oct.
Northern Vic (IRE) 7-1 (11-8) In rear, jumped right 8th, weakened quickly and pulled up at the 7th in race won by Mistral De La Cour (10-11) at Sedgefield 2m 4f cnd hcp chs (5) gf in Jun, 13 ran.
Presenting Alf (IRE) 9-2 (11-1) Towards rear, tailed off when pulled up 2 out in race won by Toy Gun (10-10) at Carlisle 3m hcp chs 0-95 (5) hvy in Oct, 9 ran.
Mitchel Henry (IRE) 100-1 (11-2) Held up, ridden approaching 4 out, never trouble leaders, 6th of 10, well behind Skippers Brig (11-2) at Carlisle 2m 5f nov chs (3) hvy.
Mae Moss 25-1 (10-0) Always behind, 7th of 15, 33l behind Smart Man (10-8) at Newcastle 3m hcp chs (5) gd in Oct.
