held up rear, reminder at 5th, lost touch 10th, pulled up before 12th
held up, slow jump 2nd, lost place, mistake 4th, ridden when pecked 9th, soon behind
hampered 1st, tracked leaders, weakened after 11th
jumped left throughout, led 2nd, narrowly headed when fell 2 out
tracked leaders, close order 9th, awkward and weakened 13th
held up, headway to chase leader 14th, ridden 3 out, slight lead when left clear 2 out, kept on
led and bumped 1st, headed 2nd, driven along and outpaced 13th, stayed on when left 2nd 2 out, not reached winner
Nonrunner
Sweet Diversion returns to action following a three-month break and comes here fresher than most but the Paul Nicholls-trained gelding will need to step up on recent form to get the better of Mrs Be, who gets the vote ahead of Five Alley. The selection has been highly tried in his last two starts, finding just the evergreen Earthmover too good in a hunter chase at Fontwell before finishing a creditable third behind Spot Thedifference in the Cross Country Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. A reproduction of that effort back over regulation fences may suffice. Five Alley showed promise in a maiden chase at Plumpton last month and warrants respect along with Henry Daly's unexposed Pharly Star. Smurfit is another worthy of a mention but Mrs Be sets a fair standard and gets the vote.
