held up in touch, jumped right 4 out and 3 out, one pace
held up towards rear, headway 8th to go 2nd, ridden approaching last, stayed on well towards finish, not reached winner
close up, led 3rd, jumped slowly 5th (ditch), ridden approaching last, kept on well, just held on towards finish
led, not fluent and headed 2nd, outpaced 4 out, kept on and no impression from 3 out
in rear and soon well behind, mistake 1st, tailed off when pulled up before 5th
towards rear, blundered 2nd, weakened 4 out, pulled up before last
Kickahead has a very good chance on the best of his form and Foreign King has switched his focus to steeple chasing successfully over the past two months but our preference is for PAGAN SWORD who was very close to landing a first chase win last month over this course and distance. Less than a length separated My Pal Val and Pagan Sword last time with our pick just losing out. Kickahead has a first try in Chase company and although he has a good enough record over the hurdles to suggest he will be in contention, we prefer to watch him here. Foreign King cannot be ruled out of calculations if he can rediscover the form that saw him win in Exeter in May. Miss Nightshade disappointed over this sort of trip last time over the hurdles at Towcester and we avoid her on this occasion. We side with Pagan Sword to go better and land the victory.
Foreign King (USA) 11-4fav (11-1) Held up in 6th, mistake 4th, jumped right 8th, ridden 10th, driven after 4 out, weakening when hit next, 5th of 7, 34l behind De Luain Gorm (11-13) at Stratford 2m 4f hcp chs 0-115 (4) gf in Jun.
Kickahead (USA) 10-1 (10-4) Held up in rear, shaken up approaching 2 out, some headway soon after but no impression last, 6th of 12, 10l behind Dani's Girl (9-9) at Ascot 2m Listed hcp hdl (1) gd in Oct.
Novikov 11-10fav (11-10) Held up towards rear, headway 4 out, chased winner approaching 2 out, ridden and in 2nd place and looking held when blundered last, soon weakened, 6th of 11, 18l behind Santera (10-6) at Doncaster 2m clm hdl (4) gd in Mar.
Pagan Sword 4-1fav (11-7) Chased leaders, went 2nd 4th, led after 8th, not fluent 2 out, headed last, stayed on, 2nd of 12, 3/4l behind My Pal Val (11-4) at Worcester 2m nov hcp chs 0-95 (5) gf in Jun.
Thenford Duke (IRE) 100-1 (10-2) Held up, always towards rear, no chance 8th, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out, in a race won by Canni Thinkaar (10-0) at Ludlow 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-95 (5) gs in Nov, 14 ran.
Miss Nightshade 7-2 (10-10) Tracked leaders, left 2nd 5th, every chance when blundered 3 out, demoted to 4th and well beaten approaching 2 out, 4th of 5, 17l behind A Dream Come True (10-4) at Towcester 2m clm hdl (5) gd in May.
Simiola 50-1 (9-11) In touch, jumped right, blundered and unseated rider 2nd, in a race won by My Pal Val (11-4) at Worcester 2m nov hcp chs 0-95 (5) gf in Jun, 12 ran.
