held up in 5th, closed before 3 out, pressing for 2nd when not fluent 2 out, 3rd and beaten when mistake last, one pace and no impression
chased leaders in 3rd, closed before 3 out, went 2nd 2 out, ridden before last, edged right flat, no impression on winner final 150 yards
held up in 4th, closed before 3 out, ridden 2 out, soon beaten, weakened before last
held up in 6th, closed before 3 out, outpaced before next, soon weakened
chased clear leader, closed before 3 out, ridden and no impression 2 out, well held 4th last
held up in rear, headway approaching 3 out, soon outpaced, well held from 2 out
made all, clear until given breather before 3 out, driven and clear again final 150 yards, stayed on
Nicky Henderson has saddled four of the last nine winners of this Listed handicap but, surprisingly, isn't represented this year. San Benedeto carries a penalty for last week's Wincanton victory over an extra half-mile and may be worth opposing while Ch'tibello has plenty of weight despite having gone close in both starts since arriving from France. John Constable has won both races over hurdles so far, however, and could be anything and he makes more appeal than the exposed Kapstadt and Song Light. STERNRUBIN appeals off bottom weight with Richard Johnson doing the steering. Second four times in a row before gaining a confidence-boosting victory at Exeter in May, he'll handle the soft ground and gets the vote. Wilberdragon wasn't disgraced at Ascot on his reappearance and is another who won’t mind conditions.
Ch'tibello (FR) 14-1 (11-4) Held up, tracked leaders 4 out, 2nd on long run before 2 out, challenged 2 out, upsides last, soon led, headed final 150 yards and soon no extra, 2nd of 9, 1 1/4l behind Altior (11-4) at Ascot 2m fll (3) gd in Oct.
John Constable (IRE) 10-11fav (10-13) Tracked clear leader to 3rd, in touch, went 2nd again 4 out, in touch when blundered next, challenged 2 out, led before last, kept on, won at Huntingdon 2m (4) gs in Apr beating Nicolas Chauvin (11-5) by 5l, 7 ran.
San Benedeto (FR) 7-2fav (11-8) Held up off the pace in 4th, closed 3 out, 2nd before next, led going well before the last, came clear run-in, eased final 100 yards, won at Wincanton 2m 4f hcp (3) hvy in Nov beating Benbecula (10-7) by 5l, 9 ran.
Song Light 10-1 (9-6) Held up in rear, ridden and headway over 3f out, outpaced final 2f, 7th of 9, 19 3/4l behind The Cashel Man (8-5) at Newmarket 2m hcp (3) gf in Aug.
Wilberdragon 7-1 (10-3) Chased leaders, 2nd approaching 3 out until pushed along before 2 out, weakened run-in, 6th of 11, 5 3/4l behind Nabucco (10-5) at Ascot 2m hcp lst (1) gd in Oct.
Kapstadt (FR) 9-2fav (11-8) Held up towards rear, good headway on inside tracking leaders 3 out, 2nd soon after 2 out, driven and stayed on run-in, 2nd of 11, 3/4l behind Cooper (10-0) at Wetherby 2m hcp (3) sft in Oct.
Sternrubin (GER) 1-2fav (10-10) Made all, clear 2nd, mistake last, unchallenged, won at Exeter 2m 1f mdn (4) gd in May beating Doctor Look Here (11-0) by 15l, 7 ran.
