held up towards rear, headway after 11th, led after 2 out, clear approaching last
in touch, chasing leaders when blundered 13th, chased winner flat, kept on same pace
mid-division, tracked leaders after 3rd, led after 8th, hit 4 out, headed after 2 out, weakened from last
led to 3rd, remained close up until fell 11th
tracked leaders, led 3rd, not fleunt 5th, headed 8th, blundered 14th, weakened 4 out
held up in mid-division, hit 6th, hampered 11th, hit 3 out, soon ridden, kept on same pace
chased leaders, badly hampered 11th, lost place, headway 2 out, weakened after last
tracked leader, settled into mid-division after 3rd, slightly hampered 11th, ridden and headway 4 out, hit next, weakened last
in rear, hit 3 out, ridden approaching 2 out, kept on approaching last, never dangerous
held up towards rear, headway approaching 5 out, blundered 3 out, soon lost place, rallied approaching last,
Although neglected in the build up to the RSA Chase, BURTON PORT ran a stonker to finish in second spot and he is hard to oppose here, despite the presence of the progressive Ogee and the solid Knockara Beau in the line-up. Nicky Henderson's son of Bob Back has done little wrong this season, only being beaten by Diamond Harry and Weapon's Amnesty. With a high cruising speed, he looks sure to have the race run to suit and the top-rated horse in the race can prevail. Dance Island has done connections proud over fences but at a lower level, Door Boy may not be full of confidence after a crashing fall at Cheltenham but his trainer does well here and the horse himself is a course winner, whilst Khachaturian is no speedster but he won't give up when headed. Jan Faltejsek may not be everyone's cup of tea but he did little wrong on Knockara Beau in the RSA and if the horse can jump a little better then he should run into a place at least. Ogee won a Grade 1 hurdle at this meeting last year and has made up into an excellent chaser. He made a couple of bad mistakes when third in the William Hill Trophy but ran a cracker and he must be respected in this field. Lenabane travels over from Ireland and his fourth to Pandorama in December looks good, although two efforts since have been less impressive. Rory Boy's improvement this year has been marked and although his jumping has not been as good recently as early in the year but he is a solid yardstick, whilst Song Sung Blue and Take The Breeze have done their winning at smaller venues and each may just be outclassed this afternoon. The horse to do that is Burton Port, who looks like banker material on day two.
Burton Port (IRE) 9-1 (11-4) Mid-division, mistake 9th, in rear 15th, not fluent 4 out, headway on outside when not fluent 3 out, soon edged left, went 3rd approaching last, stayed on under pressre to grab 2nd post, no chance with winner, 2nd of 9, 7l behind Weapon's Amnesty (11-4) at Cheltenham 3m nov chs G1 (1) gd in Mar.
Dance Island (IRE) 4-1 (11-4) Jumped left, tracked leaders, hampered and stumbled 14th, chased winner approaching 4 out until before 3 out, left 2nd again at fance until hung left after 2 out, soon weakened, 3rd of 4, 31l behind Blazing Bailey (10-12) at Leicester 2m 7f nov chs (3) hvy in Mar.
Door Boy (IRE) 25-1 (11-1) In touch, outpaced 13th, lost place when fell next, in a race won by Copper Bleu (11-1) at Cheltenham 2m 5f nov Listed hcp hdl (1) gs in Mar, 20 ran.
Khachaturian (IRE) 20-1 (11-7) Led until ridden after 3 out, 2nd and beaten when blundered 2 out, weakened flat, 5th of 24, 10l behind BallaBriggs (11-12) at Cheltenham 3m 1f Am hcp chs 0-140 (2) gs in Mar.
Knockara Beau (IRE) 16-1 (11-4) Prominent, mistake 5th, hit 4 out and lost place, 6th when slightly hampered 2 out, went 4th last, stayed on gamely under pressure flat, 4th of 9, 8l behind Weapon's Amnesty (11-4) at Cheltenham 3m nov chs G1 (1) gd in Mar.
Lenabane (IRE) 18-1 (11-6) Tracked leaders, fell 5th, in a race won by Copper Bleu (11-1) at Cheltenham 2m 5f nov Listed hcp hdl (1) gs in Mar, 20 ran.
Ogee 8-1 (10-5) In touch, mistake 5th, headway to lead 3 out, pecked next, soon headed, rallied to lead again before last, headed flat, kept on, lost 2nd towards finish, 3rd of 24, 1 1/2l behind Chief Dan George (10-10) at Cheltenham 3m hcp chs G3 (1) gs in Mar.
Rory Boy (USA) 14-1 (10-7) Chased leaders, ridden and stayed on same pace from 3 out, 4th of 12, 21l behind The Sawyer (10-0) at Cheltenham 2m 5f hcp chs G3 (1) sft in Jan.
Song Sung Blue (IRE) 5-2 (11-4) Tracked leaders, mistake 12th, headway 3 out, led 2 out, clear last, ran on well (no time taken), won at Newton Abbot 3m 2f nov chs (3) hvy in Mar beating Forest Pennant (11-4) by 13l, 4 ran.
Take The Breeze (FR) 33-1 (11-7) Mid-division on inside, outpaced 3 out, never on terms, 8th of 20, 20l behind Copper Bleu (11-1) at Cheltenham 2m 5f nov Listed hcp hdl (1) gs in Mar.
