led 2nd, headed 4th, made rest from 8th, clear 4 out, driven 2 out, eased down flat
rear, not jumped well, tailed off when pulled up before 9th
held up, reminders 2nd, headway 6th, chased winner 11th, weakened 13th
held up, mistake 4th, headway 6th, 4th and blundered badly 11th, weakened and lost touch next, tailed off and pulled up before 2 out
tracked leaders, blundered 4th, not jumped well, lost touch when blundered 11th, pulled up when tailed off next
led, headed next, led again 4th, headed 8th, weakened and pulled up before 12th
held up, headway to join leaders 11th, chased winner from next, no impression on clear leader from 4 out
tracked leaders, lost place 7th, ridden to chase leader 13th, chased clear leader flat
An interesting little race that seems to revolve around Champagne Harry, Sonevafushi and Chanticlier; with the nomination given to the first mentioned. The market will tell us whether Sonevafushi's run behind Ollie Margern can be taken on trust in this company, as the Nigel Twiston-Davies horse was heavily eased to win when they met at Fakenham in October. The subsequent efforts from the six-year-old left a little to be desired in terms of improvement and he will do very well to concede a double penalty in this company. Chanticlier has a lot of scope for the coming campaign and hails from a yard that are confident of amassing a good strike-rate this term. However, he is an unknown quantity regarding his ability over fences and his readiness for a race like this has to be taken on trust. Therefore, Champagne Harry looks a far more feasible option at this stage and the Twiston-Davies team again look the boys to be with here.
