held up, mistake and unseated rider 11th
tracked leaders, led 4th, clear 2 out, easily
tracked leaders, blundered 5th, chased winner from 10th, hit 5 out, ridden next, about 12 lengths down in 2nd when blundered last
led to 4th, remained close up, hit 9th, pushed along and outpaced approaching 13th, stayed on from 2 out, no impression
tracked leader, lost place 5th, pushed along approaching 12th, soon weakened
held up in touch, pushed along approaching 12th, soon weakened, tailed off when pulled up before 4 out
Bewley's Berry has always been held in high regard by connections and looks the one to be on here, Briery Fox and Hot Weld could be the main rivals. The selection started his hurdles career in great style winning two of his first three races. He had no luck in top races at Aintree and Cheltenham, but starts his chase campaign in a fairly weak event. He will no doubt have been well schooled and he should win if he jumps round. Briery Fox made a promising if not spectacular start to his chasing career when fourth behind Spirit Of New York at Stratford. He should improve for the experience and should be capable of reaching the frame. Hot Weld also made his fencing debut last time out and wasn't disgraced behind The Dark Lord. The pick of the others could be Hillary Harbour, but Bewley's Berry looks the class act here and gets the decision.
Abzuson 11-1 (11-0) Tracked leaders, mistake 6th, soon lost place pulled up 5 out in race won by After Eight (11-7) at Towcester 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-125 (D) sft, 8 ran.
Bewleys Berry (IRE) 6-1 (11-4) Pulled hard, headway to lead 2nd, headed approaching 7th, chased leaders, ridden and weakened approaching 3 out, behind when pulled up 2 out in race won by Asian Maze (10-11) at Aintree 3m nov hdl Grd 1 (A) gd in Apr, 17 ran.
Briery Fox (IRE) 9-1 (11-0) Held up in touch, mistake 3rd, blundered 7th, not fluent 4 out, weakened approaching 2 out, 4th of 9, 27l behind Spirit of New York (11-0) at Stratford 2m 4f beg chs (D) sft in Oct.
Hot Weld 4-1 (10-9) Held up in touch, outpaced and stuggling after 11th, kept on approaching last, never nearer, last of 5, 9l behind The Dark Lord (10-12) at Fakenham 2m 5f nov chs (C) gd in Oct.
Iris's Prince 14-1 (10-7) Chased leaders, lost place 10th, soon behind, tailed off when refused at the last in race won by Model Son (11-1) at Carlisle 3m nov chs (C) hvy in Oct, 10 ran.
Dark Diva 14-1 (10-7) Held up towards rear, headway 4 out, chased leaders next, stayed on same pace from 3 out, 4th of 12, 13l behind Combat Drinker (11-0) at Wetherby 3m 1f nh mdn hdl (E) gd in May.
Hillary Harbour (IRE) (12-0) won at Ballon Irish pt-to-pt 3m yielding in Jan beating Kiria Madam (12-0) by 19l, 10 ran.
