tracked leader and keen, reminders and weakened over 6f out, soon tailed off
held up towards rear, headway 4f out, kept on 2f out
led, pushed along over 6f out, soon headed, reminders and weakened 5f out
tracked leaders, pushed along 5f out, ridden and weakened over 2f out
prominent, a touch keen, ridden 4f out, weakened over 3f out
held up mid-division, took keen hold, led over 6f out, headed over 4f out, one pace and no impression on winner over 1f out
held up in rear, weakened over 5f out, tailed off
held up towards rear, headway to chase leaders on outer over 7f out, led over 4f out, clear well over 1f out, eased inside final furlong, easily
Twentynineblack won twice over hurdles in the summer, finishing clear of The Chazer at Bangor in May, but hasn't made the expected progress over fences. A spin on the level could restore lost confidence but other make more appeal here. They include Palos Conti, a wide-margin winner over fences at Wetherby in October, and Noble Scholar. The latter was third over hurdles at Hexham last month but has something to find at the weights with stable companion PYRACANTHA, who won a Musselburgh handicap off a mark of 115 last time and was a decent performer in bumpers earlier in his career.
Calaficial (IRE) 25-1 (10-8) Pulled hard in rear, not fluent 5th, weakened 3 out, tailed off, 8th of 10, 46l behind Dona (11-7) at Huntingdon 2m hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gs in Nov.
Noble Scholar (IRE) 3-1 (10-12) Prominent, chased winner from 2nd, ridden when not fluent last, no impression and lost 2nd flat, 3rd of 11, 6l behind Blenheim Brook (10-12) at Hexham 2m NH nov hdl 4-6yo (4) hvy in Nov.
Patrick Dee 100-1 (10-5) Hit 1st, always in rear, tailed off, 14th of 17, well behind Bobs Worth (10-12) at Kempton 2m NH nov hdl 4-6yo (4) gd in Nov.
Pyracantha 9-2fav (11-0) Held up mid-division on outer, headway to track leaders approaching 7th, ridden to lead approaching 2 out, edged left after last, kept on, won at Musselburgh 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gd in Nov beating Cool Operator (11-0) by 1/2l, 11 ran.
Quartano (GER) 16-1 (11-3) Held up in touch, under pressure 5 out, soon beaten, 6th of 7, 35l behind Radium (11-3) at Ascot 2m 3f beg chs (3) gd in Oct.
River Dragon (IRE) 28-1 (10-12) Tracked leaders on inside, lost place 6th, chased leaders under pressure approaching 2 out, soon ridden, kept on same pace, no impression, 4th of 9, 13l behind Get It On (11-5) at Market Rasen 2m 3f nh nov hdl (4) sft in Nov.
Twentynineblack (FR) 11-4fav (11-2) Held up towards rear, headway after 4 out, ridden and weakened approaching 2 out, 6th of 9, 34l behind Sonowyouno (11-2) at Carlisle 2m nov chs (4) hvy in Nov.
Cloudy Spirit 20-1 (11-6) Raced widest of all, close up, mistake 4 out, weakened
Palos Conti (FR) 13-2 (11-0) Held up in rear and keen, headway approaching 10th, went 2nd on bit approaching 4 out, led approaching 2 out, in command going to last when left clear, easily, won at Wetherby 3m 1f hcp chs 0-110 (4) gd in Oct beating Timpo (11-0) by 22l, 10 ran.
Sun Tzu (IRE) 20-1 (10-11) Tracked leaders, fell heavily 7th,
The Chazer (IRE) 12-1 (10-12) In touch, headway to chase leaders after 4 out, narrow lead 3 out, soon joined, hung left before last, headed close home, 2nd of 16, nk behind Accordintolawrence (10-12) at Exeter 2m 1f nh nov hdl (4) hvy in Nov.
