led, mistake 8th, headed narrowly before 3 out and ridden, weakened before 2 out, pulled up before last
midfield, headway to chase leader 5th, shuffled back 9th, close up before 3 out, outpaced by leader but clear 2nd 2 out, clambered over last, eased close home
held up towards rear, progress into midfield 6th, awkward 8th, close up when blundered and unseated rider 10th
jumped well throughout, tracked leader, led before 3 out, well clear before 2 out, easily
midfield, towards rear 6th, well adrift 4 out, steady progress into a modest 3rd 3 out, came home in own time
held up in rear, pushed along after 7th, detached 8th, tailed off when pulled up before 10th
Nicky Henderson sends ADJALI on the long journey north for his chasing debut and there will be some long faces if he's beaten. A dual winner over hurdles and beaten a neck in the 2018 Grade 1 Finale Hurdle at Chepstow, he's at a different level to these rivals over timber. Mighty Thunder, a useful staying hurdler with two Class 3 victories to his credit, could be the one to take advantage if the selection doesn't live up to his reputation while Taxmeifyoucan has been superbly placed by Keith Dalgleish to win eight times in 31 starts shared between the Flat and hurdles. Forecast broke a blood vessel at Kelso so did well to finish third.
Adjali (GER) 16-1 (11-2) Chased leaders, lost place before 2 out, soon behind, 18th of 24, 28 1/2l behind Saint Roi (10-13) at Cheltenham 2m 1f hcp (1) sft in Mar.
Farlam King 22-1 (10-1) Prominent, led narrowly 4 out, pressed 3 out and headed 2 out, ridden along and weakened before last, 8th of 14, 35 1/4l behind Speak Of The Devil (12-3) at Hexham 3m hcp (5) gd in Oct.
Forecast 5-1 (11-12) Chased leaders on inside, not fluent 4th, mistake 7th, led before 2 out, edged right, bumped and headed flat, no extra towards finish, 3rd of 7, 5 3/4l behind Lake Takapuna (11-1) at Kelso 2m 1f hcp (3) gd in Sep.
Mighty Thunder 10-1 (11-8) Led, headed after 3 out, soon weakened, 9th of 11, 27 1/2l behind I'd Better Go Now (10-9) at Perth 3m hcp (3) gd in Sep.
Rob The Getaway (IRE) 50-1 (11-2) Contested lead, restrained to track leaders before 4th where fell, at Wetherby 2m 3f (4) gs in Oct.
Taxmeifyoucan (IRE) 18-1 (11-5) Towards rear, pushed after 3 out, stayed on strongly, never nearer, 3rd of 11, 4l behind I'd Better Go Now (10-9) at Perth 3m hcp (3) gd in Sep.
