tracked leaders, ridden approaching 2 out, one pace from last
tracked leaders, led 4th, driven out
led to 4th, weakened from 5 out, tailed off when pulled up before last
held up, headway 6th, chasing leaders when blundered badly 5 out, hampered and brought down next
behind, hampered 3rd, headway to go in touch,5 out, ridden after 3 out, weakened last
tracked leaders, ridden and lost place quickly after 3rd, pulled up before next
held up, headway to chase leaders, 7th, ridden approaching 2 out, one pace
towards rear, mistake 1st, fell 3rd
with leader, hit first, saddle slipped, pulled up after next
held up in touch, soon tracking leaders, chasing leaders when badly hampered 4 out, ridden approaching 2 out, one pace from last
The blot on this handicap chase could clearly be Flame Creek, who Noel Chance once thought good enough to have a genuine claim for the Champion Hurdle crown, but whose previous spell of chasing meant that the jury is still out, and that's before considering how fit he will be. If he performs to anything like his hurdles form he'd be a shoo-in, but we are going to oppose him with Tribal Venture. Chasing is much more his game, his yard are producing winners and have a great record here, and he still looks open to a bit more improvement. There may also be more to come from soft ground lover Stormy Lord, who was a shade unlucky in his last two outings last season. He is generally very consistent and can make a bold showing, while Multeen River and Super Nomad look a bit too high in the handicap, so it's Tribal Venture for us.
Almaydan 7-2 (11-4) Tracked leaders, ridden and weakened 2 out, 4th of 5, 9l behind Bambi De L'orme (11-0) at Warwick 2m chs (B) gf in May.
Provocative (FR) 15-8 (11-8) Chased leaders, mistake 9th, joined leaders next, led after 5 out until fell 3 out in race won by Edmo Yewkay (10-7) at Wetherby 2m 4f nov chs (C) sft in Jan, 4 ran.
Stormy Lord (IRE) 8-1 (11-10) Tracked leaders and not fluent throughout, blundered 5 out, behind when pulled up 5 out in race won by Locksmith (11-7) at Ayr 2m nov chs (C) gd in Apr, 5 ran.
Tribal Dispute 5-4fav (11-8) Held up towards rear, headway and in touch 3 out, soon ridden and kept on one pace, 2nd of 6, 12l behind Kid'z'play (10-12) at Perth 2m nov chs (D) hvy in Jun.
Super Nomad 7-1 (11-9) Tracked leaders, headway 3 out, ridden and effort next, kept on under pressure flat, 3rd of 8, 4l behind Encore Cadoudal (10-10) at Perth 2m hcp chs 0-125 (D) sft in Apr.
Gone Too Far 2-1fav (11-12) Tracked leader, ridden to lead approaching last, headed flat, kept on one pace, 2nd of 10, nk behind Sir Night (10-5) at Kelso 2m hcp hdl 0-120 (D) gf.
Multeen River (IRE) 5-1 (11-1) Held up, hit 10th, effort 2 out, soon beaten, 5th of 8, 15l behind Bill's Echo (9-13) at Huntingdon 2m hcp chs 0-140 (B) gd.
Flame Creek (IRE) 13-2 (11-0) 5th when fell 1st fell in race won by Back In Front (11-8) at Cheltenham 2m 1f hdl Grd 2 (A) gd in Dec, 7 ran.
