held up in rear, not fluent 1st, lost touch from 5th, tailed off
made all, not fluent 4th, jumped left 2 out, driven when pressed last, wandered final 150 yards, stayed on well
held up towards rear, took keen hold, jumped slowly 2nd, mistake 5th, well held 3 out, went remote 5th last, tailed off
tracked winner until ridden 2 out, weakened last
tracked leaders, ridden approaching 3 out, weakened before next, tailed off
held up in touch, not fluent 4th, went 3rd after 5th, chased winner 2 out, challenging when not fluent last, stayed on, held final 100 yards
held up in rear, took keen hold, well beaten 3 out, tailed off
tracked leaders, took keen hold, not fluent 5th, ridden 2 out, weakened approaching last
held up in mid-division, not fluent 1st, weakened 3 out, tailed off
mid-division, ridden after 5th, soon behind, went badly left 2 out, tailed off
held up towards rear, ridden and weakened after 5th, tailed off
ERICHT was pitched in at the deep end on his hurdling debut but was far from disgraced, finishing less than two lengths behind winner Steps Of Freedom in a Grade 2 at Cheltenham. This is a decent maiden hurdle but Nicky Henderson's five-year-old has bags of scope and can open his account over timber at the main expense of Montbazon, a very decent performer in bumpers who will be all the better for his run at Cheltenham. Kuilsriver showed plenty of promise last season and should be winning soon, while Colour Squadron was only beaten half-a-length over C&D last month. Constant Contact, Osgood and War Singer are all worth noting for future reference.
Celtic Charlie (FR) 200-1 (10-12) Held up always behind, tailed off, 10th of 14, well behind Lets Get Serious (10-12) at Fontwell 2m 4f nh nov hdl (4) sft.
Colour Squadron (IRE) 5-2 (11-0) In touch, not much room on inside bend well before 3 out and slightly hampered, headway and chased leaders 3 out, went 2nd before 2 out, chased winner after last, kept on under pressure, always just held, 2nd of 12, 1/2l behind It's A Gimme (11-0) at Newbury 2m NH mdn hdl (3) gs in Nov.
Constant Contact 40-1 (8-12) Mid-division when groups merged over 4f out, weakened over 1f out, 29th of 32, 16l behind Prince Of Johanne (8-9) at Newmarket 1m 1f hcp (2) gf in Sep (flat).
Ericht (IRE) 3-1 (11-0) Prominent, went 2nd 5th, hit 3 out, led approaching last, headed flat, no extra towards finish, 3rd of 9, 2 3/4l behind Steps To Freedom (11-7) at Cheltenham 2m nov hdl G2 (1) gd in Nov.
Merry King (IRE) 8-1 (11-0) Mid-division, headway 5f out, weakened over 1f out, 6th of 17, 15l behind Sir Johnson (12-0) at Aintree 2m 1f NH flat (6) gd in Oct.
Montbazon (FR) 11-8fav (11-4) Mid-division, headway over 3f out, chased leading pair over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, kept on under pressure final furlong, not reached leaders, 3rd of 12, 1 1/2l behind One Term (11-4) at Cheltenham 2m Listed NH flat (1) gs in Nov.
Osgood 16-1 (9-6) In touch, ridden 4f out, weakened over 2f out, 12th of 14, 48l behind Carinya (9-3) at Nottingham 1m 2f hcp 0-75 (5) sft in Nov (flat).
War Singer (USA) 15-2 (8-13) won at Toulouse(FR) 1m 2f stks gs in Jun beating Magic Moon (8-10) by 1/2l, 8 ran (flat).
Winning Spark (USA) 5-1 (9-5) Held up in touch, headway over 2f out, soon ridden to challenge, kept on well closing stages, 2nd of 14, 1 1/4l behind Choral Festival (8-10) at Lingfield 1m 2f hcp 0-75 (5) pol (flat).
Goochypoochyprader 100-1 (9-12) Towards rear, struggling 4 out, tailed off when blundered 2 out, pulled up before last, in a race won by Swincombe Flame (10-5) at Exeter 2m 1f NH nov hdl 4-6yo (4) sft, 13 ran.
Push Me (IRE) 33-1 (10-4) Towards rear for most, never a factor, 12th of 20, 49l behind Toner D'Oudairies (10-12) at Down Royal 2m 3yo mdn hdl in Nov '10.
Kuilsriver (IRE) 125-1 (11-0) Never better than mid-division, 12th of 23, 16l behind Zarkandar (11-0) at Cheltenham 2m 1f 4yo hdl Grade 1 (1) gd in Mar.
