prominent, not fluent 6th, soon weakened, pulled up after 9th
held up in rear, mistake 3rd, under pressure 6th, blundered and unseated rider 9th
mid-division, not jumped well throughout, headway when blundered 2 out, never able to challenge
always behind, pulled up before 2 out
soon led, mistake and headed 11th, soon weakened, blundered 3 out, pulled up before next
tracked leader, lost place before 6th, soon detached, behind when pulled up before 9th
mid-division, hung right for most of the way, mistake 4 out, ridden to challenge 2 out, led last, soon hung left, ridden out
behind, not fluent 3 out, headway approaching next, soon ridden to challenge, kept on same pace
in touch, led 11th, ridden 3 out, headed last, no extra
in touch, under pressure 4 out, weakened next
mid-division, headway 9th, kept on same pace from 3 out
prominent, jumped left 10th, lost place approaching 2 out
It could be a good day for Howard Johnson with the Verdict again going his way courtesy of ANDY ANSHAN with Kikos and Majy D'auteuil the others to look at. Running off the same mark as his last run where he was second of 10 runners the selection seems to be the best treated by the assessor with that last outing promising some improvement. If he hadn't blundered in that race he would have been closer and he looks really well placed to go one better. Kikos was travelling really well at Market Rasen in September before falling and he followed that up with a promising effort last time when second of 11. On that performance he seemed to be well handicapped and with a small rise here he should still be competitive. Majy D'auteuil showed a big improvement under topspeed analysis in his last trip to the racecourse and despite a little scraping over the fences did really well to finish in second place. That was over a shorter trip and with his previous attempts at this distance have been largely fruitless but have, in the main, come in testing ground and conditions here should suit. Diego Velasquez could run a big race at a bigger price after showing much improvement but the vote belongs to Andy Ashan.
Liberty Ben (IRE) 8-1 (11-10) Tracked leader, blundered 8th, led 4 out, ridden and narrowly headed 2 out, remained with every chance, no extra near finish, 3rd of 8, 1 1/2l behind Nagam (10-4) at Fontwell 2m 6f hcp chs 0-115 (4) gd.
Artist's Return (IRE) 10-1 (10-7) Mid-division, 6th halfway, headway to 3rd 3 out, ridden to challenge 2 out, led passing last, kept on well, won at Tipperary 2m 4f hcp chs 0-102 gf in Jun beating Bio Boy (9-13) by 1/2l, 15 ran.
Western Whisky (FR) 14-1 (11-9) Held up, blundered 3rd, soon well behind, 6th of 10, well behind Araldur (11-3) at Chepstow 2m hcp chs 0-115 (4) gs.
Andy Anshan (IRE) 11-1 (11-2) Mid-division, headway when mistake 4 out, headway next, went second 2 out, outpaced when jumped right last, hung left and no extra flat, 2nd of 10, 17l behind More Likely (11-3) at Kelso 2m 6f hcp chs 0-115 (4) gd in Oct.
Stance 16-1 (11-8) Held up towards rear, jumped slowly 1st and 2nd, headway after 12th, soon weakened, mistake 2 out, 7th of 10, well behind Et Maintenant (11-6) at Huntingdon 2m 4f hcp chs 0-115 (4) gd in Oct.
Art Virginia (FR) 5-1 (10-13) Soon outpaced, lost touch halfway, headway 4 out, soon ridden, stayed on strongly from last to lead towards finish, won at Bangor 2m 1f hcp chs 0-105 (4) hvy in Mar beating Pret A Thou (11-2) by 1/2l, 6 ran.
By George (IRE) 3-1fav (11-10) Held up in rear, 8 lengths down when fell 3 out in race won by College Ace (11-6) at Huntingdon 3m hcp chs 0-105 (4) gs, 9 ran.
Kedgeree 2-1fav (11-12) Held up, hit 2nd, never dangerous, well behind when pulled up at the last in race won by Scalini's (10-10) at Hereford 2m 3f hcp chs 0-105 (4) sft, 9 ran.
Kikos (FR) 12-1 (10-12) In touch, challenged 4 out, chased winner after 3 out, stayed on same pace last, 2nd of 11, 2 1/2l behind Artipreuil (11-9) at Uttoxeter 2m 4f hcp chs 0-110 (4) gs in Oct.
Rookery Lad 40-1 (11-4) Chased leaders, ridden after 4 out, weakened after 3 out, 10th of 13, well behind Randolph O'Brien (11-5) at Towcester 2m 6f hcp chs 0-115 (4) gd in Oct.
Majy D'auteuil (FR) 20-1 (11-11) In touch in chasing group, closed 7th, chased winner after 4 out, stayed on flat, 2nd of 16, 2 1/2l behind Ours (11-12) at Southwell 2m hcp chs (5) gd in Oct.
Diego Velasquez (IRE) 16-1 (10-10) Towards rear, steady headway 10th, pecked 13th, soon one pace, 4th of 11, 20l behind Royal Kicks (10-8) at Kempton 2m 4f nov hcp chs 0-110 (4) gs.
