held up in rear, headway after 2 out, ridden and no impression approaching last
chased leaders, weakening when not fluent 2 out
held up in touch, headway after 3 out, ridden to challenge next, soon weakened
led, hard ridden when pressed from 2 out, headed after last, no extra closing stages
held up in rear, headway after 3 out, chased leaders next, ridden to lead after last, kept on well under pressure
tracked leader, mistake 6th, slow 5 out, weakened before 3 out, tailled off when pulled up next
held up in rear, headway under pressure approaching 2 out, never on terms
held up in rear, progress into midfield, after 3rd, headway to chase leaders after 3 out, every chance next, faded closing stages
chased leaders, under presssure 4 out, weakened next, tailed off
A couple of four-year-olds have won this in the last 10 years but neither were carrying top weight like Aalim. John Ferguson's charge was well beaten in this grade last time while Nicky Henderson's name does not appear on the list of recent winners but he's looking to put that right with Cup Final, third at Cheltenham last month on his reappearance. HOME RUN was not good enough to prevent Silsol from landing a hat-trick at Newbury last week but he has a conditional's 5lb allowance helping his cause today and may prove good enough. Drum Valley is also partnered by a claimer after a good effort at Market Rasen and is preferred to recent Exeter runner-up Unowhatimeanharry and Andy Kelly in this grade.
Aalim 5-1 (10-10) Held up towards rear, bumped 1st, not fluent 6th, headway on outside before 7th, weakened after 3 out, 8th of 10, 21l behind Henryville (10-9) at Newton Abbot 2m 6f hcp hdl (2) gd in Aug.
Andy Kelly (IRE) 4-1fav (11-6) Tracked leaders, took keen hold, close up 4 out, lost place after 2 out, 9th of 13, 32l behind Ulzana's Raid (11-12) at Cheltenham 2m 5f (3) gs in Oct.
Prima Porta 9-4fav (11-8) Led, not fluent 3rd, not fluent and headed 5th (water), last 9th, soon outpaced and no impression, well beaten after 4 out, 4th of 5, 21l behind Uriah Heep (10-10) at Ludlow 2m nov hcap ch (3) gd in Oct.
Drum Valley 9-2 (9-12) Led, ridden and headed approaching last, kept on under pressure, 2nd of 5, 3l behind Master Of The Hall (9-9) at Market Rasen 3m hcp hdl (2) sft in Nov.
Cup Final (IRE) 5-4fav (11-2) Held up behind, mistake 5th, headway before 2 out, every chance last, ridden and kept on flat, no extra in 3rd final 100 yards, 3rd of 10, 4 1/2l behind Morito Du Berlais (10-11) at Cheltenham 2m 5f (3) sft in Nov.
Waldorf Salad 7-1 (11-9) Tracked leaders in 3rd, pushed along before 4 out, soon outpaced, went poor 4th from 2 out, never dangerous, 4th of 7, 43l behind American Life (10-2) at Towcester 3m hcp hdl 0-130 (3) sft in Nov.
Westaway (IRE) 5-1 (11-5) Held up in last pair, headway into 3rd after 6th, pushed along and outpaced into 4th 2 out, 4th of 6, 11l behind Lightentertainment (10-12) at Fontwell 2m 4f hcp hdl 0-130 (3) hvy in Nov.
Unowhatimeanharry 8-1 (11-7) In touch, mistake and lost place 5th, rallied chasing leaders approaching 3 out, 2nd after 2 out, driven between last two, kept on under pressure flat, went 2nd post, just held, 2nd of 9, 1/2l behind American Life (10-5) at Exeter 2m 7f hcp hdl 0-120 (4) hvy in Nov.
Feb Thirtyfirst 12-1 (10-13) Held up but in touch, headway into 3rd at 5th, mistake 6th, every chance 3 out, weakened soon after, tailed off, 5th of 6, well behind Beau Lake (10-0) at Fontwell 2m 2f hcp hdl 0-135 (3) hvy in Nov.
Home Run (GER) 5-1 (10-7) Chased leaders, 2nd before 3 out, led narrowly 3 out, hung left and headed before last, one pace and no impression when hung badly left and weakened into 3rd run-in, 3rd of 10, 7l behind Silsol (11-5) at Newbury 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-150 (2) sft in Nov.
