in touch, hit 6th, lost place when blundered, unseated rider, 9th
mid-division, headway and in touch 7th, challenged 3 out, kept on and every chance until no extra, lost 2nd towards finish
held up, headway and in touch 6th, outpaced throughout, soon weakened
held up, headway 5 out, every chance 3 out, kept on, no extra flat
led, headed 7th, lost place 5 out, behind when mistake and unseated rider 2 out
mid-division, outpaced 5 out, soon weakened
held up, headway and in touch 7th, ridden and outpaced 4 out, rallied 2 out, stayed on well under pressure to go 2nd
tracked leaders, blundered and lost place 8th, behind when pulled up 4 out
in touch, led 7th, hard pressed from 3 out, soon ridden, stayed on well under pressure flat
A tough one to call but, as Jimmy Bond has plenty going for him, he is taken to land his third success at Wetherby; possibly at the main expense of Edmo Yewkay and Bestofthebrownies, who make appeal the likely odds, while in-form rivals Daldini and Our Jasper are likely to be popular and will help to make the price on the selection. The last named is chasing a third consecutive victory and has to merit consideration. However, he has a 7lb higher mark to contend with and faces a stiff test. Daldini also faces an arduous task under a 7lb penalty for winning at Haydock at the weekend. Sue Smith's gelding needed plenty of encouragement to win on Saturday but eventually emerged as a worthy winner. The step up in trip ought not to be a problem for him today, so a big run can be expected. He does look vulnerable under top weight, though. Bestofthebrownies returns to a more appropriate distance and should not be underestimated. However, he is turning into something of a Sedgefield specialist and, although he has plenty of experience of this track, he may be best on an undulating surface. Edmo Yewkay will be a big threat if he runs to his best, so is another to bear in mind. However, he does not win very often and needs everything to go his way. Therefore, we fancy Jimmy Bond to uphold the form of his encounter (with Edmo Yewkay) at Carlisle last month. The gelding has won at this meeting two years on the bounce and, from just a 5lb higher mark, looks to have a solid chance of winning back-to-back renewals of this particular contest.
Daldini 4-1 (11-1) Chased leaders, ridden approaching 4 out, led flat, ridden out, won at Haydock 2m nov chs (3) sft beating Nikola (10-11) by 4l, 4 ran.
Our Jasper 15-8fav (11-12) Jumped right, made all, hard pressed from 4 out, ridden 2 out, stayed on well flat, won at Doncaster 2m nov hcp chs 0-125 (3) gf beating Alroyal (11-6) by 2l, 5 ran.
Edmo Yewkay (IRE) 10-3 (11-5) Tracked leader until outpaced approaching 5 out, kept on flat but no chance with winner, 2nd of 5, 6l behind Lampion Du Bost (10-10) at Ayr 2m 4f hcp chs 0-135 (3) hvy.
Bestofthebrownies (IRE) 3-1 (11-12) Held up, headway when not fluent 7th, ridden approaching 4 out, kept on same pace to chase winner flat, always held, 2nd of 6, 2l behind Ormello (11-10) at Wetherby 2m hcp chs 0-125 (3) gd in Nov.
Haggle Twins (IRE) 14-1 (11-0) Led to 4th, led again 7th, ridden approaching 2 out, headed approaching last, one pace, 3rd of 15, 4 1/2l behind Souffleur (10-6) at Aintree 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-145 (2) gd in Nov.
Spectrometer 50-1 (11-0) Prominent, led 4th, headed 7th, ridden and weakened 3 out, tailed off, 13th of 15, well behind Souffleur (10-6) at Aintree 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-145 (2) gd in Nov.
Jimmy Bond 16-1 (10-8) Tracked leaders, led 10th, headed 12th remained in touch, ridden and kept on from 2 out, no impression flat, 2nd of 22, 8l behind Lampion Du Bost (9-11) at Aintree 2m 5f hcp chs 0-130 (3) gs in Nov.
Cloudless Dawn 9-1 (11-7) Tracked leaders, lost place 9th, tailed off when pulled up at the 11th in race won by King Harald (11-12) at Kelso 2m 6f hcp chs 0-120 (3) gd in Nov, 8 ran.
Nirvana Swing (FR) 7-1 (11-1) Prominent, led 6th, hit, headed 5 out, outpaced after next, 3rd of 6, 24l behind Dark Corner (11-12) at Market Rasen 2m 6f hcp chs 0-120 (3) sft.
