tracked leaders, lost place approaching 3rd, pushed along 6th, soon outpaced, rallied to chase winner 4 out, ridden to challenge after next, kept on under pressure
led until 8th, soon weakened, pulled up 4 out
held up in rear, ridden 8th, weakened 4 out, rallied 2 out, never on terms
tracked leader, led 8th, hard ridden when challenged 2 out, stayed on strongly (1 fence ommited)
tracked leaders, weakened after 4 out, in rear when blundered next, pulled up before 2 out
held up in touch, headway to chase leaders 4 out, weakened before next
held up in rear, mistake 4th, headway after 4 out, chased winner next, weakened last
A winner at Ascot over a year ago now, Ivor's King would have preferred faster ground on his comeback. Tolkeins Tango is another who may struggle for his best on this surface after scoring in good to soft at Chepstow recently but the underfoot conditions are no problem for BINCOMBE (NAP) despite his latest win coming on a fast surface at Aintree. Philip Hobbs' charge is upped only 3lb for that success and is preferred to Paddy The Stout, though the latter won at Kempton early this year off a similar mark and should go well along with Umberto D'Olivate.
Umberto D'olivate (FR) 8-1 (11-8) Led until 9th, ridden before 4 out, one pace 3 out, stayed on flat, 5th of 9, 7l behind Ultragold (10-8) at Exeter 2m 3f hcp chs 0-140 (3) gs.
Ivor's King (IRE) 5-1 (10-11) Led and soon clear, reduced lead 10th, headed before 2 out, driven and lost 2nd between last 2, good jump last, rallied on inside flat, driven to lead again close home, won at Ascot 2m 3f nov hcap ch (3) gs in Nov '13 beating Up To Something (11-5) by nk, 8 ran.
Tolkeins Tango (IRE) 4-1 (10-11) Held up in 5th, steady headway 9th, chased leaders before 5 out, led 5 out, clear before next, heavily eased run-in, won at Chepstow 2m 3f hcp chs 0-130 (3) gs beating Anay Turge (11-9) by 19l, 8 ran.
Simply Wings (IRE) 7-1 (10-11) Held up towards rear, ridden after 9th, mistake and behind 4 out, pulled up before 2 out, in a race won by Bertie Boru (10-12) at Stratford 2m 4f hcp chs 0-140 (3) gs in Oct, 10 ran.
Bincombe 4-1 (10-10) Mid-division, in touch 6th, driven after 3 out, ridden after next, went 2nd and every chance last, stayed on under pressure flat, led post, won at Aintree 2m 4f hcp chs 0-135 (3) gd beating Dineur (11-7) by shd, 10 ran.
Uhlan Bute (FR) 22-1 (10-11) Mistake 1st, last after, not fluent 2nd, hit next, mistakes 4th and when behind next, tailed off 4 out, mistake 2 out, pulled up before last, in a race won by Ned Stark (10-13) at Huntingdon 2m 4f nov hcap ch (3) sft in Nov, 8 ran.
Paddy The Stout (IRE) 6-1 (11-4) Raced keenly, chased winner until weakened before 3 out, tailed off, 4th of 5, 28l behind Tresor De Bontee (11-9) at Lingfield 2m hcp chs 0-120 (4) sft in Nov.
