made all, not fluent 6th, clear 2 out, stayed on well
mid-division on outside, lost place 4 out, headway 3 out, 4th and well held before 2 out, very tired and lost 4th towards finish
held up towards rear on inside, mistake 3 out, soon weakened
chased winner, not fluent 4th or 5th, lost 2nd before 3 out, ridden and well held before 2 out, plugged on flat, went 4th towards finish
held up in rear, ridden and weakened after 3 out, pulled up before 2 out
mid-division, lost place 4th, soon ridden, well beaten after 3 out, pulled up before 2 out
tracked leaders, disputing 2nd 3 out, ridden and no impression in 3rd when dived through 2 out, well held last
mid-division on inside, closed 3rd, not fluent next, disputing 2nd 3 out, looking held when mistake 2 out, stayed on same pace
mid-division, closed after 4th, ridden 7th, weakened after 3 out
NonRunner
Conditions are an unknown but he led over the last in a better race than this at Cheltenham in December. Broken Quest has looked as good as every since returning from injury but he has been racing over longer trips and edges further up the handicap. THOR DE CERISY has yet to race beyond 2m but he was staying on dourly last time at Leicester and he’ll handle conditions better than most. The novice Rocheston also catches the eye off a potentially-lenient mark while Stormy Flight came up against the unbeaten Bear Ghylls when runner-up at Exeter. Nordic Combined could also feature in this grade.
And The New (IRE) 8-1 (10-6) Led, not fluent 9th, headed last, weakened towards finish, 6th of 12, 9l behind Come On Teddy (10-2) at Cheltenham 3m hcp (2) sft in Dec.
Dan McGrue (IRE) 100-1 (11-12) Held up, headway approaching 3 out, disputing 3rd next, no extra in 4th between last 2, 4th of 8, 12 1/2l behind Bear Ghylls (11-10) at Exeter 2m 3f hcp (3) sft in Jan.
Nordic Combined (IRE) 10-3 (10-4) Chased winner, led 3 out, headed next, 2 1/2 lengths 3rd and looked to be fading when fell last, at Newbury 2m 5f hcp (2) sft in Dec.
Broken Quest (IRE) 5-4fav (11-12) Tracked leader, disputed lead after 3 out, led narrowly last, battled on strongly run-in, won at Taunton 3m hcp (3) hvy in Dec beating Premier D'troice (11-12), 9 ran.
Thor De Cerisy (FR) 7-1 (11-12) Held up in mid-division, headway to chase leaders before 2 out, went third last, ridden flat, switched right 100yd out, stayed on well, 3rd of 9, 1/4l behind When You're Ready (11-12) at Leicester 2m hcp (3) hvy in Jan.
Rocheston (FR) 9-4 (11-4) Tracked leader, ridden after 3 out, weakened before last, 4th of 7, 10 1/4l behind Ocean Drifter (11-4) at Southwell 2m 4f (4) sft in Dec.
Stormy Flight (IRE) 15-2 (11-3) Held up in rear, steady headway approaching 3 out, ridden and went modest 3rd between last 2, went 2nd post, no chance with winner, 2nd of 8, 5l behind Bear Ghylls (11-10) at Exeter 2m 3f hcp (3) sft in Jan.
Zafar (GER) 18-1 (11-12) Raced solo on inside, held up in mid-division, headway chasing leaders when hit 4 out, well held 2nd before 2 out until 2 out, weakened last, 4th of 11, 9 1/4l behind Gustavian (12-3) at Fontwell 2m 2f hcp (4) hvy in Jan.
Clongowes (IRE) 100-1 (11-2) Mid-division on inside, weakened approaching 3 out, 6th of 10, 16 1/4l behind Here Comes Johny (12-2) at Plumpton 2m 5f (4) sft in Jan.
Mustang Alpha (IRE) 12-1 (12-0) Prominent, pushed along and weakened quickly before 3 out, tailed off, 9th of 12, dist behind Bushypark (11-2) at Doncaster 2m 3f hcp (4) gs in Dec.
