chased leader, joined leader 3 out, soon ridden
held up in touch, headway and chased leader after 3 out, ridden and led 2 out, hard ridden from last, all out
held up towards rear, ridden after 6th, weakened 3 out
mid-division, ridden 6th, soon weakened
held up towards rear, mistake 5th, weakened 6th
prominent, lost place 6th, held up 3 out
held up last, headway 5th, ridden and switched right 3 out, soon weakened
in touch, led 6th, ridden and headed 2 out, weakened last
mid-division, headway 5th, ridden after 3 out, one pace
led to 6th, ridden 3 out, soon weakened
mid-division, ridden and headway from 3 out, ran on strongly from last, just failed
with leader, mistake and lost place 5th, ridden 6th, weakened 3 out
mid-division, ridden after 6th, soon weakened
held up towards rear, ridden approaching 2 out, kept on same pace
Capitana is just preferred to Redi and Nippy des Mottes. Nicky Henderson's team have been in good form in recent weeks and he has been brought along this ex-German flat horse nicely. A dual scorer at Ludlow - he seems to be able to handle any surface and he can continue to make his way from a low handicap mark. Redi has ability but does not often consent to use it. That said, he appeared to be in a much better frame of mind than normal when finishing fourth in a better race at Sandown. Nippy Des Mottes ran disappointingly on his most recent start. He has ability although his jumping is sometimes prone to the odd error or two. Wenger is here after a shock victory on soft going at Fontwell. Critical Stage is better known as a summer jumper and is tongue-tied on this rare Winter outing. Fame was once useful on the flat for Amanda Perrett. There hasn't been too much to shout about under the Winter code but the market is watched. Nuit de Sombre is tried under different headgear. A lot of runners but not too much strength in depth. Our selection is for Capitana.
Redi (ITY) 8-1 (11-0) Not fluent 1st, held up in touch, effort approaching 2 out, soon ridden and no response, beaten when hit last, 4th of 7, 8l behind Verasi (11-2) at Sandown 2m hcp hdl 0-125 (D) gs in Nov.
Nippy Des Mottes (FR) 4-1 (11-3) Held up towards rear, headway after 7th, ridden and effort 2 out, kept on same pace, 7th of 16, 6l behind Screenplay (11-2) at Newbury 2m 5f nov hcp hdl 0-120 (D) gd in Nov.
Nuit Sombre (IRE) 40-1 (11-1) Tracked leader until not fluent 6th, weakened 8th, last of 7, well behind Cerium (10-5) at Warwick 2m nov chs (C) gd in Oct.
Critical Stage (IRE) 33-1 (10-1) Always behind, ridden 4th, struggling next, 8th of 11, 19l behind Motorway (10-6) at Cheltenham 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-135 (C) gs.
Fame 14-1 (11-1) Held up towards rear, headway after 3 out, ridden approaching 2 out, soon weakened, 8th of 13, 21l behind The Local (11-4) at Wincanton 2m hcp hdl 0-120 (D) gs.
Capitana (GER) 15-8fav (11-9) Held up, headway 5th, every chance 2 out, kept on same pace, 2nd of 18, 4l behind Gustavo (9-13) at Ludlow 2m hcp hdl 0-105 (E) gd.
Wenger (FR) 14-1 (10-12) Tracked leaders, led before 2 out, hung right flat, driven out, won at Fontwell 2m 2f hcp hdl 0-110 (E) sft beating Coustou (10-7) by 1/2l, 13 ran.
Spike Jones (NZ) 10-1 (11-6) Held up, headway 5th, ridden and every chance 2 out, soon weakened, 4th of 11, 8l behind Gustavo (10-7) at Bangor 2m 1f cnd hcp hdl 0-100 (F) hvy.
