held up towards rear, headway to chase leaders 3rd, went wide on bend before 4th and lost place, ridden before 6th, lost touch 8th, tailed off from 4 out, finished 7th, placed 6th
pressed leader, not fluent 3rd, behind leaders 5th, ridden after 4 out, weakened before 3 out, tailed off when pulled up before last
midfield, not fluent and dropped to rear 2nd, ridden and lost touch 6th, plugged on from 2 out but always well held, finished 4th, placed 3rd
led narrowly, joined 6th, regained lead 7th, jumped clear 2 out, lead reduced last, almost joined flat, all out (disqualified, rider weighed in light)
midfield, blundered 4th, some headway 7th, ridden after 3 out, stayed on to chase leader last, almost upsides flat, stayed on but could not match winner, finished 2nd, placed 1st
held up behind leaders, headway to press leader 3rd, upsides 6th, chased leader 7th, weakened after 2 out, finished 5th, placed 4th
held up towards rear, jumped left 6th and lost touch, well adrift 8th, tailed off from 4 out, finished 6th, placed 5th
towards rear, awkward 3rd, rapid headway to chase leaders 4th, not fluent 3 out, well behind 2 out, stayed on for modest 3rd flat, finished 3rd, placed 2nd
midfield, dropped towards rear 3rd, ridden after 5th (water), well adrift 6th, tailed off when pulled up before last
There have been a few setbacks with some short-priced shots of late for the Corinthian spirit that is David Maxwell, but he looks to hold the aces here with ECU DE LA NOVERIE. The seven-year-old has only had two starts since December 2019 but his last run, a solid fourth last October in the always-competitive Bobby Renton Chase at Wetherby, sets a demanding standard here. His overall profile is superior to his rivals and he is hard to oppose. Capitaine is not the force of old but should still go well for Sam Waley-Cohen, whilst Creative Inerta produced a satisfactory effort when third at the Cheltenham hunter chase night and is an each-way option.
Argot 4-6fav (11-5) (bl) led 4-7; outpcd 13; lft 2nd 2 out; rallied to ld flat; all out, won at Witton Castle 3m gd in May beating Thyne For Gold (11-5) by 1l, 7 ran.
Babytaggle (IRE) 125-1 (11-12) Disputed lead with winner until soon after 3 out, weakened next, 5th of 8, dist behind Green Winter (11-12) at Huntingdon 3m (6) gd in May.
Bandsman 9-2 (11-7) (cp) chsd ldr 8-12; wknd 2 out, 3rd of 9, 20l behind Risk And Roll (11-7) at Tabley 2m 4f gd in May.
Capitaine (FR) 2-1 (12-0) A.p; chall aft 3 out; wknd app last, 2nd of 6, 15l behind Rio Bravo (12-5) at Mollington 2m 4f gs in May.
Creative Inerta (IRE) 33-1 (11-10) Mid-division, headway after 5th, ridden after 3 out, kept on from 2 out but no match for front two, 3rd of 10, 10 1/2l behind Fumet D'Oudairies (11-13) at Cheltenham 2m (5) gd in Apr.
Ecu De La Noverie (FR) 17-2 (11-12) Held up towards rear, headway approaching 12th, ridden to challenge approaching 2 out, held when hampered last, 4th of 14, 11 1/2l behind Cool Mix (10-12) at Wetherby 2m 3f hcp (3) gs in Oct.
Graasten (GER) 16-1 (11-2) (5a) (tt) led aft 1-4 & 7-8; wknd 14; t.o & pu 16, at Edgcote 3m gd in May.
Midnight Cowboy 4-1 (12-0) (cp) ww; hdwy 7; outpcd 14; rallied aft 3 out; led app last; r.o wl, won at Kingston Blount 3m gd in May beating Newsworthy (12-3) by 5l, 11 ran.
Dissertation 200-1 (11-3) Held up behind leaders, distant 3rd jumping 4 out, lost a place before 3 out, kept on but well behind, 4th of 6, dist behind Adrien Du Pont (12-0) at Kempton 2m 4f (5) gd in Apr.
