led, ridden approaching 3 out, kept on from last, headed towards finish
chased leaders, behind from 5 out, pulled up after 2 out
tracked leaders, ridden approaching 4 out, kept on one-paced from 2 out
in rear, pushed along approaching 10th, ridden next, headway to go 2nd 3 out, all out to lead towards finish
close up, ridden approaching 4 out, weakened approaching next
Only the five runners but still a competitive contest with none of the quintet easily discounted. Whether The Storm had some respectable form over hurdles but cut little ice on his chase debut and is probably best watched for the time. Jurancon II, a winner of a big field handicap hurdle at Cheltenham's Open meeting but beaten since, makes his chasing debut, as does Nicky Henderson's Better Days, who has the look of a chaser, but it may pay to side with those with experience over the larger obstacles. The Venetia Williams-trained Bicycle Thief was rated 120 over timber so it was a disappointing effort by him on his first start over fences when eventually falling (held at time) at Plumpton. That leaves us with Indian Scout. Ben de Haan's son of Phardante bounced back from a spell on the sidelines with colic to score in emphatic fashion at Haydock last month, beating Sir Storm by 28 lengths, and with further improvement to come he looks the one to beat.
