in touch, unseated rider 7th
prominent, led 6th, headed 8th, ridden from 4 out, weakened 2 out
in touch, slow jump 11th, ridden and mistake 4 out, weakened next
held up rear, headway 11th, ridden approaching 12th, weakened 3 out, fell next
held up, headway after 11th, ridden to chase leading trio 3 out, weakened after 2 out
always in rear
in rear when fell 1st
held up rear, ridden when mistake 9th, weakened and tailed off after 11th and soon pulled up
tracked leaders, led 9th, blundered 5 out, headed 2 out, every chance last, no extra
in rear, jumped slowly 4th, behind when pulled up after 5th
in touch, slow jump 5th, ridden to chase leaders and mistake 5 out, led 2 out, jumped slowly and kept on well
led, headed 6th, stayed prominent, ridden 4 out, weakened after 3 out
tracked leaders, hit 2nd, ridden and weakened 5 out, pulled up before 3 out
Island Faith gets the vote over a whole host of rivals including Kelrev, Soeur Fontenail, Rags To Riches, Almost Broke and Marked Man. Island Faith put paid to the odds-on Bannow Strand in the Edward Hanmer at Haydock in November, giving him a stone in the process, and a small rise in the weights is unlikely to stop his follow-up bid. Connections will make the journey down from County Durham in optimistic mood and he should go close. Kelrev hails from an in-form stable, and judged by the way that he powered away from his rivals at Doncaster three weeks ago, he will not be hindered by his weight here. He too is another to consider along with Soeur Fontenail who is progressive enough to not be outclassed here. Rags To Riches is going the right way, while Almost Broke needs to settle better if he is too take a hand. He will be going back over fences in due course anyway, and a bigger threat may be Marked Man who has performed with credit on his last two outings at Warwick. Island Faith did nothing wrong last time though and can be supported again.
Kelrev (FR) 5-1 (11-6) Mid-division, headway 5 out, led before 2 out, clear last, comfortably, won at Doncaster 2m 3f hcp chs 0-135 (C) gs beating Hakim (11-4) by 4l, 13 ran.
Patricksnineteenth (IRE) 14-1 (11-4) Held up, headway 16th, ridden 3 out, no chance when slightly hampered 2 out, 4th of 10, 16l behind Rule Supreme (11-4) at Cheltenham 3m nov chs Grd 1 (A) gd in Mar '04.
Mixsterthetrixster (USA) 66-1 (10-2) Mid-division, headway 12th, slighly hampered 3 out, soon ridden, weakened after next, 7th of 16, 17l behind Sir Oj (10-0) at Cheltenham 2m 5f hcp chs Grd 3 (A) gs.
Island Faith (IRE) 15-2 (11-6) Held up, headway 7th, ridden approaching 3 out, led last, driven clear flat, eased towards finish, won at Haydock 2m hcp chs 0-130 (C) gs in Nov beating Bannow Strand (10-6) by 7l, 8 ran.
Almost Broke 2-1fav (10-12) Pulled hard in rear, headway 5th, ridden 2 out, weakened before last, 3rd of 13, 20l behind In Accord (10-12) at Chepstow 2m 4f nov hdl (E) hvy.
Kalca Mome (FR) 40-1 (11-7) In touch, joined leaders approaching 3 out, ridden and weakened approaching 2 out, 10th of 15, 41l behind Acambo (10-9) at Windsor 2m hcp hdl 0-135 (C) gs.
Marked Man (IRE) 7-2 (12-1) Held up and keen, hit 9th, headway 10th, ridden 2 out, every chance soon after last, no extra towards finish, 2nd of 7, 1 1/2l behind Pass Me A Dime (11-3) at Warwick 2m 4f hcp chs 0-125 (D) sft.
Shamawan (IRE) 9-2co-fav (11-0) Held up rear, headway 7th, weakened 3 out, 7th of 12, well behind The Gangerman (9-7) at Chepstow 3m hcp hdl 0-125 (D) hvy.
Edmo Yewkay (IRE) 11-2 (11-12) With leaders, led approaching 3rd, clear 5 out, ridden approaching last, eased towards finish, won at Wetherby 2m 4f hcp chs 0-125 (D) hvy beating Green Ideal (10-11) by 23l, 6 ran.
Wrags To Riches (IRE) 12-1 (11-4) Held up, headway 6th, with leader 7th and 8th, ridden approaching 4 out, chased winner from 3 out, always held, 2nd of 7, 5l behind Noisetine (11-7) at Chepstow 2m 3f hcp chs 0-130 (C) hvy.
Lord Maizey (IRE) 16-1 (10-0) Led to 16th, weakening when hit 4 out, well beaten when pulled up 2 out in race won by Royal Auclair (11-5) at Cheltenham 3m 1f lst hcp chs (A) gs, 11 ran.
No Visibility (IRE) 9-1 (11-0) Held up, hit 10th, headway when not fluent 5 out, stayed on to go 3rd flat, 3rd of 7, 12l behind Noisetine (11-7) at Chepstow 2m 3f hcp chs 0-130 (C) hvy.
Soeur Fontenail (FR) 6-1 (11-11) Prominent, led 7th, idled badly 150 yards from finish, joined and ran on well, won at Newbury 2m 2f hcp chs 0-110 (E) gs beating Ballyrobert (11-12) by 1l, 9 ran.
