held up in rear, effort 5f out, weakened approaching 3f out
made all, clear approaching 3f out, eased run-in
tracked leaders, not fluent 8th, fell next
tracked leaders, chased winner when hit 11th, ridden and blundered 3f out, soon weakened
held up in rear, struggling halfway, tailed off when pulled up before 4f out
Ex-French runner PETER POLE was a winner on his British racing debut and the gelding stands out here ahead of Dancer's Serenade and Tarabaloo. The selection was a winner on his third and final start over fences in the French provinces and followed up with a win at Exeter last time out. The way he hacked clear down the straight there suggests there is plenty left in the tank. The six-year-old runs off a mark of 115 today which is 7lbs higher than his last win but under the ride of Tony McCoy he looks like scoring again here today. Six-year-old Tarabaloo has been in good form, despite not winning. The filly has run admirably in her last three chases and looks more than capable of winning a similar race. Dancer's Serenade has been running rather inconsistently since his win back in January. The Seven-year-old gelding should fare well here and has performed well over this trip in the past but he is one to have reservations about so we can't look beyond Peter Pole.
Paradise Regained (FR) 14-1 (11-11) Held up, ridden and hit 10th, soon struggling, tailed off, 7th of 9, 44l behind Pressgang (11-12) at Kempton 2m 4f nov hcp chs 0-130 (3) gd in Dec.
Peter Pole (FR) 15-8fav (11-12) Held up and always going well, led 12th, unchallenged, easily, won at Exeter 3m nov hcp chs 0-110 (4) gd beating Baren De Doc (11-11) by 17l, 12 ran.
Dancer's Serenade (IRE) 6-4fav (10-11) Tracked leaders, ridden 2 out, no extra approaching last, 3rd of 4, 9l behind Selection Box (11-8) at Ayr 2m hcp chs 0-125 (3) hvy.
Tarabaloo 7-1 (11-3) Mid-division, headway 3 out, chased leaders when blundered next, stayed on to go 2nd before last, no chance with winner, 2nd of 10, 18l behind Stagecoach Amber (10-12) at Sedgefield 2m 4f hcp chs 0-110 (4) gd.
Schinken Otto (IRE) 14-1 (10-9) Held up in rear, outpaced approaching 10th, headway approaching 4 out, in 3rd when mistake 2 out, soon weakened, 4th of 13, 19l behind Jeringa (10-5) at Wetherby 2m 6f hcp chs 0-115 (4) gs in Nov.
Art Virginia (FR) 12-1 (10-7) Tracked leader, lost place before 6th, soon detached, behind when pulled up at the 9th in race won by By George (10-7) at Huntingdon 2m 4f hcp chs 0-115 (4) gd in Nov, 12 ran.
