held up, hit 7th, closed next, not fluent 9th, soon ridden, weakening when not fluent and unseated rider 4 out
led until 4th, led 6th, hit 8th, headed next, not fluent 4 out, weakened next, crumpled on landing 2 out and pulled up
never going well in last and made mistakes, lost touch before 9th, pulled up before 4 out
tracked leaders, went 2nd after 4 out, mistake 2 out, stayed on flat, led towards finish
held up, 4th and ridden before 4 out, went 3rd approaching next, not able to get on terms, eased to a trot passing line
tracked leader, led 4th until 6th, led 9th, idled flat, headed towards finish
Milosam has completed a hat-trick over this course and distance in the past couple of months but is now 16lb higher than his opening victory. He's still improving but will find this competition tougher. Tin Pot Man was down to a very handy mark at Chepstow last time but couldn't quite take advantage and is now up 3lb. Royal Chatelier isn't exactly consistent though he's up to winning this at his best and is happiest when the mud is flying. Donnas Palm once beat Foildubh in a Grade 2 at Navan when trained in Ireland and though taking a drop in class he hasn't been in the best of form for Gary Moore. Mentalist is very consistent and is only 1lb higher than his last winning mark so he's an obvious threat though a chance is taken on FRIENDLY SOCIETY, who was having his first start for new connections after arriving from Ireland at Cheltenham last month where he caught the eye in a better race than this.
Mentalist (FR) 5-1 (11-12) Held up, not fluent 9th, hit 13th, went 2nd 2 out, no impression towards finish, 2nd of 5, 3l behind Wood Yer (11-11) at Leicester 2m 7f hcp chs 0-115 (4) sft.
Donnas Palm (IRE) 11-4 (11-7) Tracked leading pair, pecked 1st, not fluent 3rd, went right 10th, outpaced and reminders before next, plugged on to modest 3rd close home, never any chance with leading duo, 3rd of 4, 30l behind Beforeall (11-12) at Fontwell 2m 6f hcp chs 0-120 (4) hvy in Dec.
Friendly Society (IRE) 20-1 (11-2) Held up, pecked 3rd, mistake 10th, some headway 13th, mistake 3 out, never on terms, 7th of 16, 21l behind King Massini (10-12) at Cheltenham 2m 5f cond hcp chs (4yo+) (3) gd in Dec.
Royal Chatelier (FR) 16-1 (11-5) Prominent, led 11th, headed 5 out, ridden and one pace 2 out, went 3rd at last, no impression with front pair, 3rd of 9, 15l behind Arc Warrior (10-0) at Wetherby 3m 1f hcp ch 0-110 (4) sft.
Tin Pot Man (IRE) 8-1 (11-9) Held up in rear, steady headway approaching 5 out, left in 4th next, went 2 lengths 2nd last, edged right under pressure flat, closed towards finish, always just held, 2nd of 9, 1l behind Glenwood Prince (11-9) at Chepstow 3m hcp chs 0-95 (5) hvy in Nov.
Milosam (IRE) 6-4fav (10-1) Chased leader, led with circuit to go, clear before 2 out, ridden and hung right flat, stayed on, won at Taunton 2m 7f nov hcp chs 0-110 (4) hvy in Dec beating Possibly Flora (10-7) by 1 1/4l, 8 ran.
