held up, headway 11th, went second next, ridden approaching 2 out, weakened last
prominent, ridden and lost place after 12th, rallied and mistake 3 out, went second last, kept on, not trouble winner
made all, ridden approaching last, ran on
tracked leaders, lost place 12th, rallying in 4th when blundered 4 out, not recover
prominent to 13th, soon weakened
behind from 4th, soon tailed off
not fluent, held up, headway approaching 13th, ridden approaching 3 out, weakened before next
Last year's Arkle runner-up Impek has had this race as his target for some time, and Henrietta Knight's eight-year-old is taken to land the spoils at the expense of Iris Royal, La Landiere and Calling Brave. Impek proved when second to Isio in the Arkle 12 months ago that he handles the track although his detractors would point out that he has only ever won going right-handed. Do not let that put you off though, as we can safely assume that Henrietta Knight knows what it takes to saddle Cheltenham winners by now! A big weight is no bar to victory in this race as many have carried penalties to success and he is in the right age-group as well. Richard Philips has struck form at just the right time, which augurs well for the chance of his game mare La Landiere as she bids to repeat her success of 12 months ago. However she is paying the penalty now off her current mark and it is doubtful that she will be able to emulate Stormyfairweather who was the last to gain-back-to-back victories here four years ago. The latter is trained by Nicky Henderson whose runners should never be discounted, the master of Seven Barrows having sent out four winners in all. He is double-handed this year with Calling Brave and Iris Royal, the last-named out to bounce back after being pulled up here on New Years Day after being hampered by a faller. Prior to that he was a gutsy winner of the Tripleprint Gold Cup and goes on fast ground. Mick Fitzgerald prefers him to Calling Brave who has been impressive but faces his stiffest task to date. Martin Pipe is no stranger to the winner's podium in this event either as he has sent out four winners in the past, three of them in the last eight years. Like Royal Auclair and Cyfor Malta before him, the five-year-old Don Fernando can claim the weight-for-age allowance from his rivals, a ploy that has worked well for the Nicolashayne team in the past. Given Pipe's record it would be folly to rule out Tony McCoy's mount. Patricksnineteenth and Our Armageddon are progressive sorts, but they lack the class of Impek who has most to fear from Iris Royal in the final ever running of this famous race.
