in rear, hit 11th, soon lost place
soon chasing leader, led 3 out, clear after next
led, ridden and headed 3 out, stumbled next, weakening when blundered last, soon lost 2nd place
chased leaders, outpaced 3 out, kept on to take second after last, no chance with winner
This looks to be a straight match-up between TIDAL BAY and Albertas Run and we will put forward Tidal Bay as the pick. The selection has not been seen out since April, but he should be up to taking this before going on to much bigger and better thnigs this season. He is clearly a smart prospect and he won well in a grade 1 chase at Aintree last time; that race that had previously been won by Twist Magic, Ashley Brook and Well Chief and he can follow a similar path to those winners. Albertas Run will be no push-over as he won the Royal and Sun Alliance chase at Cheltenham last season and he brings some solid form to the table here. He is returning from a lengthy break but he has gone well fresh in the past so that should not be a problem. Martin Todhunter's O'maley has managed to get his head in front four times, but he would need to find dramatic improvement to get competitive in this. Rimsky is another who will find this company too hot to handle, and we will stick with Tidal Bay who is a confident pick.
Albertas Run (IRE) 6-4fav (11-7) In touch, blundered 7th, went 2nd at 15th, ridden approaching 3 out, weakened approaching last, 3rd of 8, 11l behind Big Buck's (11-3) at Aintree 3m 1f nov chs Grd 2 (1) gd in Apr.
Tidal Bay (IRE) 6-4fav (11-4) Always prominent, went 2nd after 8th, ridden approaching 3 out, led after 2 out, wandered slightly before hitting last, stayed on well, won at Aintree 2m nov chs Grd 1 (1) gd in Apr beating Takeroc (11-4) by 6l, 8 ran.
O'maley (FR) 7-4 (11-8) Made all, not fluent 11th, in command when mistake 2 out, comfortably, won at N Abbot 3m 2f nov chs (3) gd in Apr beating Leading Authority (11-8) by 11l, 5 ran.
Rimsky (IRE) 11-1 (11-6) Mid-division, pushed along after 9th, weakened 14th, 8th of 14, 26l behind Bill's Echo (11-6) at Bangor 3m hcp chs 0-130 (3) gd in Oct.
