tracked leading pair, went 2nd 2nd, led approaching 4th, headed 13th, chased winner, led briefly 3 out, ridden and lost 2nd before 2 out, weakened to 4th last
tracked leader until 2nd, remained in 3rd place, pushed along after 11th, lost 3rd after 15th, rallied to modest 3rd again last
racing in 4th place when fell 5th
held up in 5th, left in 4th place at 5th, went 3rd going well after 15th, went 2nd before 2 out, upsides winner and every chance when bumped last, ridden and found no extra flat
led until approaching 4th, chased leader, led again 13th, headed briefly 3 out, ridden before next, joined when went right last, stayed on to assert flat
behind, not much room 1st, badly hampered and unseated rider 5th
The ground will be pretty cut up by the time this gets under way and stamina will be at a premium. Ethiopia stays forever and is 8lb lower than his last winning mark but he finished more than 20 lengths behind SKIPPER'S LAD over this C&D a year ago and Colin Tizzard's 10-year-old, 2lb lower now, may just be better suited by conditions. He's not shown much lately but is getting weight from some modest chasers. Templer needs it much quicker and looks to be on a downward spiral while Quazy De Joie has been rested since pulling up at Uttoxeter in June. Come What Augustus has plenty of experience between the flags but these fences will test him.
Templer (IRE) 7-1 (11-7) Tracked leaders, outpaced 4 out, no chance with leaders before next, 5th of 7, 23l behind Lost Glory (11-8) at Southwell 3m 2f hcp chs 0-125 (3) gd in Jul.
Quazy de Joie (FR) 13-8fav (11-6) Tracked leaders in 4th, soon towards rear, reminders 8 out, tailed off and pulled up before 5 out, in a race won by Wellforth (11-8) at Uttoxeter 3m 2f hcp chs 0-120 (4) gs in Jun, 6 ran.
Ethiopia 12-1 (11-5) Tracked leaders, blundered and lost place 11th, behind and reminders after 14th, soon struggling, no danger after, 6th of 7, 27l behind Lost Glory (11-8) at Southwell 3m 2f hcp chs 0-125 (3) gd in Jul.
Ballyhilty Bridge 25-1 (11-0) Mid-division on outside, struggling 3 out, kept on under pressure aapproaching last, never near leaders, 7th of 14, 19l behind Bathwick Man (11-7) at Stratford 2m 6f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gf in Jul.
Come What Augustus 11-4fav (11-2) Mid-division, pushed along from 5th, 9th and plenty to do 3 out, kept on under pressure approaching last, ridden and flashed tail flat, went 3rd towards finish, never nearer, 3rd of 11, 9l behind Direct Flo (11-3) at Worcester 2m 7f am hcp hdl 0-95 (5) gd in Jul.
Skipper's Lad (IRE) 20-1 (11-12) Never going towards rear, tailed off 10th, 7th of 11, well behind Lord Lescribaa (11-2) at Newton Abbot 2m 5f hcp chs 0-95 (5) gd in Aug.
