behind, blundered badly 3rd, in rear until headway 4 out, stayed on flat to be nearest at finish
held up in touch, headway 7th, led 3 out, clear 2 out, very easily
blundered 4th, always in rear
led, mistake 8th, headed 3 out, weakening when hit last
chased clear leaders, weakened 9th, fifth when pulled up lame before 3 out
behind when pulled up lame before 6th
held up, headway 4th, blundered and unseated 7th
held up, headway 7th, 4 lengths down when fell 8th
with leader, every chance 4 out, weakened 3 out
The vote here goes to Welsh Main ahead of, mainly, My Galliano. Better rated over hurdles than he is over fences, Welsh Main looked an improved performer when scoring at Hereford on October 16th and should go well under his penalty in a bid to follow up. Just two pounds above a winning fencing mark, and having run to a higher rating over hurdles recently, My Galliano is very much respected, while a repeat of his June Huntingdon run gives Meltonian claims, a similar comment applying to Karakum based on an August effort at the same venue. Wages is potentially interesting over fences after showing reasonable hurdling form, as is Manolo, who could yet take to the chasing game. Another to consider is Knight's Emperor, who is now three pounds above his Newton Abbot winning mark in August. However, the vote stays with Welsh Main.
Knight's Emperor (IRE) 9-1 (11-4) Mid-division, mistake and lost place 5th, blundered badly 7th, reminders and soon weakened, 5th of 9, 31l behind L'Oiseau (11-5) at Stratford 2m 1f hcp chs 0-105 (E) gd.
Welsh Main 11-4fav (10-11) Raced on outside, ridden 3 out, led approaching last, driven out, won at Hereford 2m 3f hcp chs 0-110 (E) gf beating Romany Dream (10-12) by 2 1/2l, 8 ran.
Manolo (FR) 9-1 (10-11) Mid-division, headway 7th, weakened after 3 out, 10th of 15, well behind Blue Hawk (10-3) at Worcester 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-110 (E) gd in Jun.
Karakum 20-1 (10-12) Mistakes, held up towards rear, headway 7th, weakened approaching 4 out, 6th of 8, 46l behind Nick The Jewel (11-8) at Worcester 2m cnd hcp chs 0-105 (E) gd.
Meltonian 14-1 (11-6) Held up, headway 8th, weakened 3 out, 4th of 7, 26l behind College City (11-5) at Market Rasen 2m 1f hcp chs (F) gd.
My Galliano (IRE) 10-1 (10-0) Pulled hard in mid-division, hampered 3rd, headway 5th, mistake 7th, soon led, ridden and headed 2 out, one pace, 2nd of 11, 5l behind Fire Dragon (11-10) at Huntingdon 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-120 (D) gf in Sept.
Kinkeel (IRE) 8-1 (11-7) Keen, mid-division, ridden approaching 2 out, soon weakened, 11th of 15, 22l behind Young Tot (11-2) at Towcester 2m hcp hdl 0-95 (F) gf.
Gipsy Cricketer 9-2 (10-6) Led, blundered 2nd, headed 3rd, chased leaders, lost place 7th, tailed off 4 out and pulled up 4 out in race won by College City (11-5) at Market Rasen 2m 1f hcp chs (F) gd, 7 ran.
