held up in 4th, closed to track leaders 14th, mistake 16th, left 6th lengths 2nd at 19th, no impression from 2 out, weakened flat
hit 2nd, held up in rear, stayed on under pressure before 3 out, stayed on same pace from next
held up, mistake 4th, blundered and unseated rider
held up, mistakes 2nd and 13th, stayed on under pressure from 4 out, jumped left 2 out and last, took 2nd flat, no chance with winner
tracked leader, jumped right 10th, 3 lengths down when fell
made all, clear from 4th, not fluent 6th, left well clear 19th, stayed on well
held up in rear, mistake 6th, plodded from 4 out, never dangerous
chased leaders to 14th, steadily lost place, tailed off
Some familiar names line up for this marathon contest but the likes of Ad Hoc, Maximize and Granit d'Estruval are hard to fancy with any confidence on recent evidence and a chance is taken with the novice Limerick Leader on his handicap debut. Given the nature of the contest, the Philip Hobbs-trained gelding is likely to have a steady rather than furious pace, which should suit the son of Supreme Leader, who was a useful staying hurdler last term. Ad Hoc should strip fitter for his recent return over hurdles and is probably the most interesting among the more experienced runners but may not represent much in terms of value. Stablemate Un Jour A Vassy is capable but prone to the odd jumping error, while Kim Muir winner Maximize is now back to a fair mark but has given little sign of encouragement this term and Timmy Murphy is likely to have to really earn his riding fee on the 10-year-old. Pipe is also represented by Bounce Back who has yet to trouble the judge since his attheraces Gold Cup success of 2002 and has not looked like doing so either. Ferdy Murphy has his string in good order so Granit d'Estruval has to be respected but he does not win very often and has been well beaten on both starts this term. Smarty ran well back over the Grand National fences last time but tends to do things at his own pace and of more interest may be Tom George's Historic, who is entitled to strip fitter for his reappearance run last month. Limerick Leader is fit and in form though and he gets the vote.
