led 1st, hit 4out, headed briefly 2out, clear last, pushed out
led until jumped slowly 1st, close up to 10th, son ridden and behind
pulled hard in rear, headway 10th, led briefly 2out, soon one paced
tracked leaders, every chance before 2out, soon outpaced
Royal Max got no further than the first fence at Huntingdon earlier this week and it remains to be seen if his confidence has been affected. Preference, therefore, is for KARASENIR who will have learnt plenty from his fencing debut at Newton Abbot in July and was easily the best of these over hurdles. Vincitore may need this after a lay-off but has some scope and should pick up a race like this in the not-too-distant future, but U B Carefull has something to prove having taken a heavy fall at Ffos Las nine days ago.
Karasenir (IRE) Evensfav (11-0) Led, jumped right 2nd, jumped slowly 4th, not fluent 12th, headed and not fluent 3 out (water), beaten when jumped right 2 out, 2nd of 6, 13l behind Vico (11-0) at Newton Abbot 2m 5f beg chase (4) gf in Jul.
Royal Max (IRE) 5-1 (11-0) Led, knuckled on landing and unseated rider 1st, in a race won by The Wifes Pet (10-7) at Huntingdon 2m 4f nov chs (4) gf in Aug, 5 ran.
U B Carefull 16-1 (10-11) Held up in last, fell 2nd, in a race won by Black Jack Blues (11-7) at Ffos Las 2m 3f nov chs (4) gf in Aug, 4 ran.
Vincitore (FR) 13-2 (10-11) Tracked leaders, closed 3 out, chased winner 2 out, soon hard ridden, went right and not fluent last, stayed on, 2nd of 15, 3/4l behind Willandrich (9-11) at Aintree 3m hcp hdl 0-125 (3) gd in May.
