led, jumped right 2nd, jumped slowly 4th, not fluent 12th, headed and not fluent 3 out (water), beaten when jumped right 2 out
held up, went 4th 7th, ridden 12th, went 3rd 4 out, outpaced next, demoted to 4th last
held up, went 3rd 4th until 6th, outpaced 9th, lost touch 10th, tailed off
with leader, not fluent 6th, outpaced from 4 out, went 3rd last, no impression
held up, pecked slightly 1st, went 3rd 6th, pressed leader 4 out, led next, clear when jumped right final 2, comfortably
tracked leaders, reminder after 8th, behind next, tailed off
Vico was let down by his jumping when a well-beaten third behind Chesapeake at Worcester last month. Paul Nicholls' gelding should have learned plenty from that but may not be suited by this shorter trip on fast ground. Strong Soul ran well on his chasing debut at Ffos Las when chasing home Siberian Tiger and is another with plenty of scope but he could just find KARASENIR has too much speed for him around here. Winner of a Listed contest over hurdles in the autumn, Philip Hobbs' five-year-old could have a decent future over the larger obstacles and has been found a good opportunity to get off the mark here. Pagan Sword has been placed several times but will probably find at least a couple of these too good again.
Karasenir (IRE) 25-1 (11-6) Held up towards rear, blundered 5th, edged left and headway under pressure approaching last, stayed on flat, never dangerous, 10th of 23, 21l behind Sir Des Champs (11-3) at Cheltenham 2m 4f hcp (2) gd in Mar.
Pagan Sword 33-1 (10-11) Pressed leader, led 4th, reminder after 7th, headed approaching 2 out, one pace, 2nd of 6, 4 1/2l behind Harry Tricker (11-4) at Fontwell 2m 2f beg chs (4) gd in Sep.
Ship To Shore (IRE) 66-1 (10-13) Led, ridden and headed before 9th, soon weakened, tailed off, 7th of 12, well behind Ely Brown (10-8) at Worcester 3m nh nov hdl (4) gf in May.
Strong Soul (IRE) 9-1 (10-12) Led, ridden and headed approaching 13th, soon demoted to 3rd, went 2nd after 3 out, stayed on, no impression on winner, 2nd of 4, 3l behind Siberian Tiger (11-5) at Ffos Las 2m 5f nov chs (4) gd in Jun.
Vico (IRE) 13-8fav (11-0) Tracked leader, jumped right, stumbled slightly 1st, dived at 4th, led 6th, headed after 14th, beaten 2 out, weakened last, 3rd of 6, 23l behind Chesapeake (11-0) at Worcester 2m 7f beg chase (4) gd in Jun.
Will If I Want (IRE) 18-1 (11-0) Led narrowly, headed 11th, chased leader until approaching 2 out, weakened quickly soon after, tailed off, 5th of 9, well behind Earth Planet (11-0) at Hereford 3m 1f beg chase (4) gd in Jun.
