not fluent, behind, mistake 3rd, driven and in touch 14th, stayed on under pressure from next, never going pace to reach leaders
held up in mid-division, smooth headway from 4 out, chased leaders 2 out, led narrowly last, hard ridden run-in, headed final strides
always behind
behind, headway under pressure and close up 14th, driven approaching 4 out, steadily weakened
always behind, mistake 14th, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out
prominent, went 2nd 12th, led after 14th, headed 4 out, chased leader to 2 out, one pace before last
tracked leader, led 5th, narrowly headed after 14th, weakening when blundered 2 out
close up, ridden 10th, soon lost place, jumped right 12th, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out
held up towards rear, steady headway to tracked leaders from 11th, led narrowly 4 out, not fluent and narrowly headed last, rider soon dropped whip, chased leader under pressure until not quicken towards finish
mid-division until blundered and unseated rider 9th
chased leaders until weakened before 2 out
held up towards rear, steady headway from 13th, effort to chase leading pair when rider dropped whip soon after last, pushed along and ran on to lead final strides
always behind, ridden and no impression from 4 out
in touch, outpaced and behind from 14th, no chance when mistake next
blundered 3rd, always behind, under pressure 9th, tailed off when pulled up before 13th
chased leaders until weakened after 14th
led to 5th, stayed chasing leader to 12th, weakened before 4 out, tailed off
Nonrunner
This is a very open renewal of the Mandarin Chase and so the tentative selection is Christopher, with Lou du Moulin Mas and Ulusaba put forward as the main rivals. The Phillip Hobbs trained seven-year-old was successful over the two and a half mile trip at Aintree last month. He stayed on resolutely under a penalty to chase home You're Special at Cheltenham next and should be suited by the extra distance today. Lou du Moulin Mas will have no problems with the trip having finished a close second behind Lord Of Illusion over course and distance last time, and must be in the shake up again. Ulusaba travels down from the North in great form having won a couple of modest events before making Parsons Legacy pull out all the stops in a decent contest at Leicester. Meanwhile Sir Talbot ran a cracker on his seasonal debut and should be thereabouts, but Christopher has as good a chance as any and is the sporting choice.
