chased leader, led approaching 3rd, headed 5th, led again 8th, headed 4 out, one pace run in
in rear, headway to chase leaders approaching 15th, soon pushed along, never dangerous
held up, took close order 3rd, dropped rear 9th, hit 13th, soon struggling, tailed off when pulled up before 2 out
held up, pushed along 10th and reminders, blundered 14th, tailed off when pulled up before 15th
led, headed approaching 3rd, led again 4 out, ran on clear run-in
always behind, struggling from 11th, tailed off when refused 5 out
chased leaders, pushed along and outpaced approaching 4 out, stayed on from 2 out, went 2nd run in, no chance with winner
prominent, joined leader 4th, led next, headed 8th, outpaced 5 out, stayed on from last
This should lay between Ardent Scout, Midnight Gunner and Tell Tale, and we will side with Ardent Scout to return to form off a handy mark. Sue Smith's gelding races off a mark of 115 here, fully 8lb lower than his latest win, in the Becher Chase of 2002. Admittedly some more juice in the ground would help, but with the forecast saying that some rain will fall on Saturday that will help his cause. A good jumper who stays these extreme distances, he can score. Midnight Gunner gets 3lb from the selection and goes well on fast ground, as evidenced by his defeat of Flying Trix at Cheltenham's spring meeting. He looks like he has been put by for this since that day and should also have a good chance, but at these weights is just overlooked. Tell Tale is still a maiden and has much less experience than the other pair. Another fast ground lover who stays well, this is his toughest assignment so far and even at 12 he is not as battle hardened as some of the others. Therefore, we will stick with Ardent Scout to see them all off from the front.
