made all, ridden and quickened approaching 2 out, driven out
held up in touch, not fluent 6th, ridden 3 out, weakened 2 out, jumped right and unseated rider last
in touch, headway 5th, ridden 7th, weakened after 3 out
mid-division, mistake 5th, headway 6th, ridden approaching 2 out, hit 2 out, no extra
chased leaders, ridden approaching 6th, outpaced 7th, ran on from 2 out
mid-division, headway 7th, ridden 3 out, ran on to go 3rd approaching last
always behind and not jump well, soon tailed off
held up in touch, headway 6th, ridden behind winner 3 out, not quicken
held up towards rear, some headway approaching 3 out, went 2nd 2 out, ridden last, ran on strongly flat, not reach winner
chased leader early, ridden and lost place 6th, soon weakened
Nonrunner
Figaro Du Rocher can defy topweight at the expense of Red Society and Orion Express, with Flying Spur and Methodical a couple more to mention. Figaro Du Rocher humped a big weight to victory at Carlisle just over a month ago, and then chased home O'Toole up the Cheltenham hill when put back over hurdles last time. That was a fair effort by David Pipe's six-year-old who once again tackles the smaller obstacles here. Off his current hurdles mark it is not hard to see why connections have resisted the temptation to put him back over fences, and hopefully he can brush off the challenge of the lightly-raced Red Society. He is not as well treated over hurdles as fences, and might just need another run to put him straight, while Orion Express was given a positive ride by Lucy Gardner when scoring over the course-and-distance last month but has a few pounds to find. The selection's stablemate Flying Spur has shown little but should be noted in the market, while Methodical has past winning course form and at the age of four, could progress this term, but we shall rely on Figaro Du Rocher.
Figaro du Rocher (FR) 9-2 (10-4) Led 2nd until narrowly headed 2 out, rallied to regain 2nd flat, no chance with easy winner, 2nd of 12, 7l behind O'Toole (11-4) at Cheltenham 2m cnd hcp hdl 0-135 (3) gd in Oct.
Red Society (IRE) 9-1 (11-12) Held up towards rear, headway after 7th, soon ridden, weakened next, 12th of 15, well behind Bishop's Bridge (11-11) at Exeter 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gd in Oct.
Devito (FR) 12-1 (11-0) In touch, effort 3 out, soon ridden, one pace from next, 7th of 15, 13l behind Bishop's Bridge (11-11) at Exeter 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gd in Oct.
Orion Express 6-1 (11-9) Held up mid-division, headway after 7th, led well before last, soon clear, pushed out, won at Taunton 2m 3f cnd hcp hdl 0-100 (4) gd in Oct beating Better Moment (11-9) by 6l, 13 ran.
Noble Calling (FR) 11-1 (10-9) Mid-division, ridden 3rd, weakened 6th, 8th of 17, 31l behind Arabian Moon (10-12) at Hereford 2m 3f cnd sll hdl (5) gf.
So Brash (IRE) 33-1 (11-0) Held up towards rear, ridden and headway after 7th, weakened next, 8th of 15, 34l behind Bishop's Bridge (11-11) at Exeter 2m 3f hcp hdl 0-115 (4) gd in Oct.
Methodical 11-1 (11-7) Mid-division, headway approaching 6th, kept on one pace, 6th of 13, 17l behind Orion Express (11-9) at Taunton 2m 3f cnd hcp hdl 0-100 (4) gd in Oct.
Flying Spur (IRE) 13-2 (11-12) In touch, mistake 3rd, blundered 10th, soon weakened, 6th of 12, well behind Opportunity Knocks (9-11) at Plumpton 2m 4f nov hcp chs 0-95 (5) gd in Oct.
