led, under pressure 13th, soon headed, mistake 4 out, lost place next, headway approaching last, went 2nd flat, stayed on well
in touch, slow 14th, headway 3 out, soon chasing leaders, weakened after next
tracked leaders, lost place 7th, slow 10th, headway 13th, soon prominent, ridden to challenge after 2 out, ran on to lead flat, all out
held up in rear, under pressure 4 out, soon behind, blundered badly last
held up in rear, headway 4 out, under pressure 2 out, soon no impression
prominent, reminders 7th, led approaching 14th, ridden and headed flat, no extra
The richest and probably most competitive contest on the card can go the way of COOL ROXY, who gets the nod ahead of Aleron and The Dark Lord. The selection won here by 24 lengths on his penultimate outing, and has 10 course victories to his name. He's giving weight away all round, but not that much, and Chris Honour takes off three pounds. There may be a slight concern about the conditions though, given that he's usually won when there's been a faster surface. Aleron's a hold-up type who won at Aintree in October when there was a decent gallop, but was subsequently pulled up in testing conditions last time out. The Dark Lord, another to let the others make the running, has proved himself versatile and so should handle the conditions. He's won here before, when ahead of Cool Roxy. There'll be question marks about the ground for a number here, including Leopold, who's certainly got some decent form in the locker including a recent win here.
Cool Roxy 9-1 (11-0) Tracked leader, mistake 8th, soon under pressure, weakened 12th, 6th of 10, 36l behind Bishop's Bridge (11-12) at Huntingdon 2m 4f hcp chs 0-145 (2) gd in Nov.
Ocean du Moulin (FR) 20-1 (11-7) Chased leaders, weakening when mistake 4 out, 4th of 13, 28l behind Ice Tea (11-11) at Wetherby 3m 1f hcp chs 0-130 (3) gs in Nov.
The Dark Lord (IRE) 12-1 (11-12) Held up behind, hampered 12th, headway when mistake 13th, ridden after 17th, weakened 3 out, 6th of 16, 26l behind Hello Bud (11-8) at Fontwell 3m 4f hcp chs 0-135 (3) gs in Nov.
Aleron (IRE) 12-1 (11-2) Chased leaders, weakened from 15th, behind when pulled up 2 out in race won by Nenuphar Collonges (11-12) at Bangor 3m hcp chs 0-135 (3) hvy in Nov, 9 ran.
Livingonaknifedge (IRE) 18-1 (10-11) Always behind, last of 10, well behind Ellerslie George (10-10) at Wetherby 2m 4f hcp chs 0-135 (3) frm in Oct.
Big Rob (IRE) 25-1 (11-6) Led 1st, made rest until blundered and headed 4 out, chased winner until after next, weakened before 2 out, 3rd of 12, 30l behind Lidjo De Rouge (10-8) at Folkestone 2m 5f hcp chs 0-125 (3) gd in Nov.
Leopold (SLO) 7-2fav (11-0) Close up, chased winner 11th until 4 out, remained close up, ridden 3 out, stayed on to take 2nd flat, 2nd of 11, 2 1/2l behind Jackella (11-11) at Fakenham 2m 5f hcp chs 0-105 (4) gs in Nov.
