held up mainly in 4th, went 2nd at 13th, lost place 3 out, weakened after last
tracked leader, led 3rd, ridden 3 out, headed narrowly between last 2, every chance last, no extra flat
tracked leading pair on outside, ridden after 4 out, one pace next, weakened 2 out, tailed off
mid-division, reminder after 10th, chased leaders 4 out, stayed on to lead narrowly between last 2, ridden flat, headed towards finish, no extra
held up in last pair, blundered 7th, headway 5 out, challenged on inside 3 out, every chance last, ridden and no extra flat
led to 3rd, chased leader, reminder after 8th, lost place 13th, weakened 5 out, tailed off next
held up in last pair, headway 12th, driven to chase leaders before 4 out, ridden and one pace before 2 out, rallied flat, led towards finish
mid-division, struggling 13th, weakened after 5 out, soon pulled up
Strumble Head would have claims in this on his best form. He's one of five previous course winners but Sir Mattie returns from a lengthy absence while High Kite was pulled up at Towcester earlier this month. Mac Le Couteau is a regular here and won over further last time. Only 6lb higher, he must have every chance of following up but we prefer stablemate COPPER BIRCH with Conor Ring's claim a plus on the latter. He just found 3m6f too far last time at Exeter but won over this trip at Taunton in January. Top Dancer is lightly-raced for his age but it looks as though Father Time has caught up with Shakalakaboomboom and Pigeon Island.
Copper Birch (IRE) 20-1 (11-1) Held up towards rear, headway before 14th, chased leaders next, driven into 3rd at the last, stayed on same pace run-in, 3rd of 13, 12l behind Catching On (11-11) at Exeter 3m 6f hcp chs 0-125 (3) hvy in Mar.
Strumble Head (IRE) 12-1 (11-12) Led, headed before 4 out, soon ridden and weakened, 5th of 6, well behind Express Du Berlais (11-7) at Fontwell 2m 6f hcp chs 0-120 (4) gd.
Shakalakaboomboom (IRE) 8-1 (11-1) Mid-division, chased leaders 17th, weakeend 5 out, behind when pulled up after 3 out, in a race won by Whats Happening (11-9) at Cheltenham 3m 4f hcp chs 0-130 (3) gd in Apr, 11 ran.
Top Dancer (FR) 10-1 (9-10) Tracked leaders, ridden from 4 out, soon weakened, 9th of 20, well behind Heathfield (9-13) at Punchestown 3m 6f hcp chs 0-145 sft.
Sir Mattie (IRE) 14-1 (11-11) In rear, headway before and not fluent 4 out, went 2nd before 2 out, kept on and no chance with winner, 2nd of 6, 12l behind High Kite (11-2) at Ffos Las 3m hcp chs 0-115 (4) gd in Jun.
High Kite (IRE) 6-1 (11-9) Mid-division, not fluent 1st, jumped slowly and towards rear 4th, reminders after 6th, not fluent 8th, last 10th, pulled up before 2 out, in a race won by By The Boardwalk (10-5) at Towcester 3m hcp chs 0-115 (4) gd, 8 ran.
Pigeon Island 8-1 (11-12) Last pair, not fluent 10th, plugged on in modest 5th from 4 out, went poor 4th run-in, never involved, 4th of 9, 49l behind Gunna Be A Devil (11-3) at Taunton 3m 2f hcp chs 0-115 (4) gs in Mar.
Mac Le Couteau 4-1 (10-13) Held up in touch, tracked leaders 5 out, challenged 3 out, led last, ridden and hard pressed flat, edged right towards finish, just held on, won at Ffos Las 3m 1f hcp chs 0-105 (4) gs in Apr beating Charming Lad (10-1) by nk, 7 ran.
