jumped slightly right at times, pressed leader, not fluent 2nd, led 4th, not fluent 7th, headed 8th, led 4 out, ridden and headed after 3 out, led last, stayed on
held up in last, not fluent 1st, went 3rd 8th, lost touch 10th, soon behind, lost 3rd and pulled up after 3 out
led until 4th, led 8th, headed 4 out, led and ridden after 3 out, headed last, held flat
chased clear leaders, last 8th, soon behind, went 3rd after 3 out, tailed off
King's Grace returned to winning ways over track and trip last month but has to give plenty of weight to his rivals. THE BEAR TRAP makes his chasing bow but will have been well schooled and could have too much pace for these if able to stay in touch. He's a strong traveler, though only managed one victory over hurdles under a waiting ride from A P McCoy. Swaledale Lad didn't turn up at Carlisle on his latest start in October but maybe the rest has done him some good.
King's Grace 10-3 (11-10) Tracked leader, not fluent 5 out, driven to challenge after 3 out, led before last, stayed on strongly, won at Bangor 2m 4f hcp chs 0-120 (4) gs in Mar beating Arctic Ben (11-9) by 6l, 4 ran.
Royal Macnab (IRE) 10-1 (11-1) Held up towards rear, headway after 3 out, went 5th before 2 out, never dangerous, 7th of 8, well behind Kilcooley (11-8) at Market Rasen 2m 1f nov hdl (4) gs in Mar.
Swaledale Lad (IRE) 5-2fav (11-0) Tracked leaders in 3rd, led 6th, headed and blundered 5 out, soon weakened, 7th of 8, 33l behind Definite Dream (10-10) at Carlisle 2m nov hcp chs 0-125 (3) sft in Oct.
The Bear Trap (IRE) 10-1 (10-5) Held up towards rear, headway towards inside approaching 3 out, weakened before last, 11th of 17, 19l behind Vendor (10-12) at Newbury 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-150 (2) sft in Nov.
