in rear, blundered 1st, jumped slow 2nd, soon tailed off, pulled up before 7th
tracked leaders, led 3 out, clear from next
held up in touch, blundered 8th, weakened from 4 out
with leader, ridden and weakened approaching 4 out, jumped right after
always behind, tailed off when pulled up before 4 out
held up, mistake 7th, weakening when blundered 4 out, blundered next
led to 3 out, soon ridden, well held in 2nd when pecked last
held up, blundered badly 5th and again 6th, not recover, pulled up before 8th
held up in touch, headway 5 out, ridden next, soon weakened
Opera De Coeur receives the selection ahead of King Revo. Opera De Coeur was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons as the stewards took a dim view of Mark Bradburne's efforts when the pair finished second to Lennon. This assignment does not look any tougher on paper and Richard Johnson is brought in for the ride. King Revo was a solid hurdler on his day but whilst he made little impression on his chasing debut, any softening of the going could play to his obvious stamina. Tragic Ohio has left the Paul Nicholls stable and makes a return to the track under the care of Donald McCain. Pasagai is in receipt of all the allowances and having won at Bordeaux by a sizeable margin, any confidence in the market is noted. Dictum's long absences from the track make him a difficult proposition to assess and there is no hiding place here. Opera De Coeur is given the confident vote.
Dictum (GER) 33-1 (11-5) Tracked leader to 7th, hit 9th, mistake and weakened 4 out, 5th of 6, 18l behind Killaghy Castle (11-5) at Newbury 2m 1f beg chs (3) gs in Nov.
King Revo (IRE) 7-1 (11-3) Chased clear leaders, stayed on steadily from 3 out, better for race, 3rd of 4, 12l behind Harmony Brig (11-3) at Ayr 2m nov chs (3) sft in Nov.
Mange Tout (IRE) 50-1 (11-4) Tracked leader and keen, ridden 3 out, kept on, 3rd of 8, 2l behind Orang Outan (10-4) at Southwell 2m mdn chs (4) gs.
One More Native (IRE) 10-1 (12-0) 4th of 17, 15l behind Crafty Monkey (12-0) at Brampton Bryan 3m ptp gd in Mar '05.
Tragic Ohio 9-2 (11-0) Held up towards rear, not fluent 3rd and 4th, driven after 6th, behind when pulled up at the 8th in race won by Spirit of New York (11-0) at Stratford 2m 4f beg chs (D) sft in Oct '05, 9 ran.
Sunley Shines 20-1 (10-10) Led, until mistake, headed and hampered 4 out, soon weakened and pulled up in race won by Opera Mundi (10-11) at Newbury 2m 2f nov hcp chs 0-125 (3) sft in Nov, 10 ran.
Opera de Coeur (FR) 15-8 (10-6) Held up, went 2nd 3 out, 10 lengths down last, stayed on flat, no chance with winner, 2nd of 3, 2l behind Lennon (11-12) at Aintree 2m nov chs (2) gd in Nov.
Pasagai (FR) (10-10) Won at Bordeaux, 2m2f110y hdl hvy in Feb beating Friswallow (10-5) by 8l, 9 ran.
