held up in rear, not fluent 8th, headway 13th, ridden 3 out, no extra next
in touch in mid-division, closed after 6th, mistake 4 out, ridden after next, 4th and one pace 2 out
pressed leader, led 2 out, driven flat, headed towards finish
held up in rear, mistakes 3rd and 4th, ridden 13th, hampered 4 out, soon weakened, fell last
led until 2 out, stayed pressing leader, stayed on gamely to lead again towards finish
in touch in mid-division, pushed along after 8th, reminder 10th, went 3rd before 2 out, stayed on same pace
in touch in mid-division on outside, closed 5th, mistake next, tracking leaders when fell 4 out
tracked leaders, lost a few places 9th, towards rear but still in touch when fell 4 out
held up in rear, jumped slowly 2nd, ridden 13th, outpaced when mistake 3 out, plugged on flat, no impression
Nonrunner
Al Alfa was only fourth in this last year and is 6lb higher. Gallery Exhibition has a penalty for a recent win at Catterick and could find this on the sharp side but he still makes more appeal than the disappointing Wiffy Chatsby and Simply Wings. Buck Mulligan, from last year's successful yard, has his ground and is back over his best trip so can't be ignored while there should be more to come from Liberty One, but fellow novice SON OF SUZIE is potentially well treated if he can get his act together. His jumping let him down at Ascot last time but he'll have had a schooling session since to iron out his deficiencies and is unexposed. Hollow Blue Sky was taking on decent opposition here last time so could be the danger.
Gallery Exhibition (IRE) 6-4fav (11-12) Held up in rear, not fluent 7th, headway 12th, went 2nd 15th, not fluent 3 out, led last, clear flat, eased towards finish, won at Catterick 3m 1f hcp chs 0-120 (4) gd beating Foot The Bill (9-11) by 1l, 6 ran.
Liberty One (IRE) 4-1 (11-1) Held up in 7th, good headway chasing leaders before 4 out, pushed along and every chance when pecked 3 out, weakened after next, 4th of 8, 23l behind Ned Stark (11-5) at Newbury 2m 6f nov hcap ch (3) sft in Nov.
Buck Mulligan 16-1 (11-11) Behind, chased leaders 4 out, soon outpaced, weakened next, left moderate 4th 2 out tailed off, 4th of 13, well behind The Young Master (11-8) at Cheltenham 3m 1f am hcp chs 0-125 (3) gd in Oct.
Wiffy Chatsby (IRE) 7-1 (11-0) Held up towards rear, niggled along before 4 out, mistake 3 out, soon well beaten, 8th of 10, 48l behind Bertie Boru (10-12) at Stratford 2m 4f hcp chs 0-140 (3) gs in Oct.
Al Alfa 10-3 (10-13) Led until 10th, lost 2nd next, lost 3rd 4 out, soon struggling, plugged on in modest 4th, 4th of 8, 29l behind Niceonefrankie (11-3) at Ascot 2m 3f hcp chs 0-140 (3) sft in Nov.
Hollow Blue Sky (FR) 16-1 (9-11) Mid-division, reminder after 9th, soon chased leaders, outpaced before 2 out, never on terms, 6th of 19, 23l behind Bold Henry (10-6) at Cheltenham 2m hcp chs 0-145 (2) sft in Nov.
Son Of Suzie 4-1 (10-8) Mistakes, led until mistake and headed 4th, chased leader, bumped next and switched right to inside, blundered 8th and 11th, every chance when went slightly left and slight peck 3 out, lost 2nd well before next, weakened soon after, 5th of 6, 16l behind Big Hands Harry (11-3) at Ascot 3m nov hcap ch (3) sft in Nov.
Midnight Lira 10-1 (11-2) Tracked leaders, driven and outpaced by leading pair 12th, soon ridden, lost 3rd next, weakened 14th, tailed off 4 out, 4th of 7, well behind Russe Blanc (10-11) at Exeter 3m hcp chs 0-125 (3) hvy in Nov.
The Society Man (IRE) 9-1 (9-13) In rear, outpaced 12th, ridden and headway 3 out, went 3rd next, kept on one pace, 3rd of 6, 13l behind Royal Palladium (11-0) at Market Rasen 3m 1f nov hcp chs 0-120 (4) sft.
Simply Wings (IRE) 7-1 (10-11) Held up towards rear, ridden after 9th, mistake and behind 4 out, pulled up before 2 out, in a race won by Bertie Boru (10-12) at Stratford 2m 4f hcp chs 0-140 (3) gs in Oct, 10 ran.
Hatters River (IRE) 5-2 (10-12) Chased leaders, left 2nd 10th until next, outpaced from 12th, well beaten from next, refused last, in a race won by Tinker Time (11-6) at Kempton 3m nov hcap ch (3) gs in Nov, 5 ran.
