mid-division, headway and in touch 12th, outpaced 3 out, no impression with leaders from next
held up behind, headway and in touch on inside after 12th, outpaced when hit 5 out, weakened next, soon pulled up
mid-division, dropped to rear and reminders after 7th, lost touch 9th, pulled up before next
mid-division, headway and in touch 12th, led 2 out, soon ridden, stayed on well to go clear from last
held up behind, headway after 12th, chased leaders when not fluent 3 out, ridden next, soon weakened
led or disputed lead until went on halfway, headed 3 out, weakened between last 2
tracked leading pair, went 2nd at 10th, driven to lead 3 out, headed next, soon ridden, no extra in 3rd approaching last
led or disputed lead to halfway, lost place 12th, tailed off
held up towards rear, headway to track leaders 5 out, ridden and effort to challenge 2 out, soon chased winner, kept on same pace, no impression with winner from last
chased leaders in 4th, lost place before 10th, behind from 12th, tailed off when pulled up before 14th
Nonrunner
Alvarado, Sir Du Bearn and Lively Baron are all recent winners in this grade and should be in the firing-line again, despite a rise in the weights. Buffalo Bob ran well for a long way on his reappearance at Haydock and is another for the short-list while Kauto Relko was taking on decent opposition at Cheltenham last time, though has struggled over this longer trip in the past. Fine Parchment certainly can't be ignored as he's a bold jumper and a winner off this mark in the past. Gavin Sheehan also takes off 7lb. MONKERTY TUNKERTY has won five times between the flags and made an eye-catching debut over fences under Rules when beating Bradley by 11 lengths at Warwick in January. The runner-up won three of his next five starts and is now rated 133 so Jessica Westwood's charge is potentially well treated here off 127 and gets the vote.
Cadoudalas (FR) 5-1 (11-6) Tracked leaders, weakened before 3 out, 5th of 7, well behind Pericoloso (11-12) at Exeter 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) hvy in Oct.
Sir Du Bearn (FR) 25-1 (11-11) Held up in rear, headway to chase leaders 4 out, led before last, stayed on strongly, won at Stratford 2m 5f hcp chs 0-135 (3) sft in Oct beating Midnight Sail (11-3) by 2l, 9 ran.
Fine Parchment (IRE) 9-2 (11-12) Tracked leaders, went 2nd from 7th until 10th, weakened approaching 2 out, last of 5, 31l behind Relax (11-1) at Southwell 2m 4f hcp chs 0-135 (3) sft in May.
Quartz de Thaix (FR) 20-1 (11-12) Prominent, lost place 4th, struggling after 7th, well beaten 3 out, 13th of 14, 37l behind Big Easy (10-9) at Bangor 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-145 (2) gd in Feb.
Kauto Relko (FR) 20-1 (10-9) Mid-division, headway 4 out, mistakes 3 out and 2 out, no extra last, 5th of 20, 13l behind Nadiya De La Vega (11-2) at Cheltenham 2m 4f hcp chs 0-150 (2) gs in Oct.
Monkerty Tunkerty 5-4fav (11-10) Held up towards rear, smooth headway 11th, chased leaders 4 out, went 2nd 3 out, challenged going well 2 out, ridden and found nil well before last, beaten when pecked last, 2nd of 16, 11l behind Rumbury Grey (11-10) at Stratford 3m 4f nov hts chs (2) gd in Jun.
Lively Baron (IRE) 13-8fav (11-5) Tended to jump right, always prominent, led after 10th, headed after 3 out, soon outpaced, rallied flat, regained lead post, won at Kelso 2m 7f hcp chs 0-130 (3) gs in Oct beating Solway Bay (10-5) by ns, 10 ran.
Buffalo Bob (IRE) 10-3 (11-12) Led to 2nd, blundered 3rd, led 7th, headed 10th, outpaced from 5 out, kept on from 4 out, no impression, 4th of 7, 23l behind Ballybough Gorta (11-2) at Haydock 3m hcp chs 0-125 (3) sft in Oct.
Cotswold Charmer (IRE) 4-1 (10-12) Tracked leader, with leaders 11th, weakened before 4 out, went remote 2nd before last, lost 2nd place run-in, 3rd of 5, 18l behind Lively Baron (10-12) at Warwick 3m nov chs (4) gd in Feb.
That's The Deal (IRE) 8-1 (9-10) Tracked leaders, left 2nd at 11th until next, driven and rallied to press easy winner between last 2, no impression in clear 2nd from last, 2nd of 6, 3l behind Pasco (11-9) at Aintree 2m 4f hcp chs 0-135 (3) gd in Oct.
Alvarado (IRE) 8-1 (11-9) Mistake 2nd, held up in touch, driven and outpaced 3 out, headway approaching last, switched inside and ran on well flat to lead final 50 yards, won at Wetherby 2m 4f hcp chs 0-135 (3) gs in Oct beating Pigeon Island (11-8) by 2 1/4l, 12 ran.
