not fluent and jumped right, held up in last, went 4th approaching 12th, hampered and left 3rd 14th, soon went down when blundered badly and unseated rider 3 out
led, not fluent 4th, reminder approaching 6th, ridden after 3 out, edged left after 2 out, headed last, one pace
held up in 4th, headway to go 2nd 7th until after 9th, remained handy, left 2nd 14th, switched right after 2 out, led last, stayed on well, pushed out towards finish (no time taken)
chased leaders, went 2nd after 9th, jumped left 10th, fell 14th
chased leader to 7th, dropped last approaching 12th, losing touch when badly hampered and left 4th 14th, left poor 3rd 3 out
This three mile Beginners' Chase looks tight with not much to choose between most of the runner but with CHAIM the only one of these to have won when hurdling Lucy Wadham¿s charge just has the vote in preference to War Footing and Gilsland. A proven performer on testing ground the selection is a dual bumper winner and will have gleamed plenty of confidence after some good efforts over timber. He should take to the larger obstacles just find and any market support for him would be note worthy. War Footing has the benefit of experiencing the bigger jumps and went close two starts ago at Huntingdon. He was well beaten off last time but this is easier and we should see Brendan Powell¿s runner in the mix. Gilsland was expected to go better last time but pulled up on that chasing bow. On the plus side he handles testing conditions and this step up in trip won't hurt. Quentin D'ex is also in with a claim after a solid performance last time but Chaim knows how to win and that's a major plus in this field.
Chaim (IRE) 13-2 (11-5) Held up in rear, ridden and weakened 2 out, 4th of 7, 17l behind River Logic (11-2) at Market Rasen 2m 5f hcp hdl 0-120 (3) sft in Nov.
Gilsland (IRE) 5-2fav (10-3) Jumped badly, pecked 1st and 2nd, not fluent 4th, chased leaders to 8th, handy until driven and dropped to rear approaching 4 out, blundered badly next and pulled up, in a race won by Bertie May (10-0) at Exeter 2m 3f nov hcp chs 0-130 (3) sft in Nov, 6 ran.
Quentin D'ex (FR) 17-2 (11-12) Held up on outside, headway 9th, kept on same pace from 3 out, never near leaders, 4th of 10, 27l behind Sagalyrique (11-12) at Taunton 2m 3f hcp chs 0-110 (4) sft in Dec.
War Footing 20-1 (10-9) Held up, headway to chase leaders 12th, weakened soon after 4 out, no chance with front pair soon after, 3rd of 10, 36l behind Far More Serious (11-4) at Newbury 3m nov hcp chs (4yo+) (3) gs in Dec.
Ringsend Rose (IRE) 150-1 (10-8) Mistake 1st, soon tailed off, detached when pulled up after 11th, in a race won by Inchidaly Rock (11-6) at Cheltenham 3m 1f nov chs (2) sft in Dec, 6 ran.
