led, not fluent 9th, pushed along before 11th, headed before and mistake 2 out, soon reminders, left 2nd and hampered last, no chance with winner
tracked leaders, ridden before 2 out, one pace and left 3rd last
held up in rear, in 5th and no impression when left 4th last and badly hampered
tracked leaders in 3rd, pushed along after 8th, soon lost place, tailed off
mid-division, chased leader 7th, led before 2 out, clear before last, eased towards finish
in touch, pecked 1st, soon lost place and towards rear, ridden after 11th, soon headway, in 2nd and well held when fell last
towards rear, headway before 7th, weakened from 12th
BERTIE'S DESIRE is hardly one to have the mortgage on as he's been blundering his way round though hasn't been beaten far in his last two starts. He was just over a length behind Arkaim here in November and that winner is now rated 114 so Oliver Sherwood's charge can take this providing he stays on his feet. Topaze Collonges scored from a higher mark at Market Rasen a year ago but has been badly out of sorts while the veteran Orang Outan hasn't raced since June. Egypt Mill Spirit may be better suited by shorter but Osmosia will enjoy the conditions though he's better handicapped over hurdles.
Topaze Collonges (FR) 17-2 (11-5) Tracked leaders in 4th, reminders after 4th and lost place, slightly hampered 7th, went distant 3rd 9th (3 out), no chance with leading duo, tailed off, 3rd of 6, 33l behind Itoldyou (11-4) at Fontwell 2m 6f hcp chs 0-115 (4) hvy in Feb.
Orang Outan (FR) 16-1 (11-0) Led, headed 9th, chased leader, ridden after 2 out, led before last, held on gamely flat, won at Southwell 2m 4f hcp chs 0-100 (5) gd in Jun beating Ginger's Lad (10-8) by nk, 9 ran.
Egypt Mill Spirit (IRE) 7-1 (11-6) Held up towards rear, headway when mistake 10th, mistake next, stayed on same pace from 4 out, went 3rd when mistake and rider lost iron briefly 2 out, no chance with winner, 3rd of 11, 19l behind Lord Landen (10-7) at Leicester 2m 4f hcp chs 0-105 (4) gs in Feb.
Osmosia (FR) 66-1 (10-7) Led until halfway, chased leader until pushed along over 4f out, weakened rapidly over 3f out, tailed off, last of 13, well behind Tanks For That (11-0) at Kempton 2m n h flat (4) std in Feb.
Bertie's Desire 3-1 (10-10) Led until 1st, prominent, jumped right and hit 6th, mistake 8th, outpaced 4 out, rallied last, stayed on, 4th of 5, 1 3/4l behind The Last Night (11-8) at Leicester 2m nov hcp chs 0-110 (4) gf in Dec.
Ilewin Kim 17-2 (10-7) Held up in rear, slightly hampered 2nd, behind from 5th, 8th of 11, well behind Jeanry (11-5) at Chepstow 2m hcp chs 0-100 (5) hvy in Feb.
Mad Professor (IRE) 66-1 (9-9) Close up, ridden when weakened 3 out, pulled up last, in a race won by Powertakeoff (10-4) at Fakenham 2m (5) sft in Feb, 7 ran.
