soon behind, not fluent 5th, lost touch 8th, pulled up approaching 10th
prominent, ridden approaching 4 out, weakened approaching 3 out
chased leader, led approaching 4th, hit 7th, headed 10th, ridden 13th, soon weakened
jumped well, prominent, led 10th, quicken on bit approaching 3 out, heavily eased from last, impressive
led to 4th, ridden 11th, weakened 12th
held up last, ridden and lost place 12th, rallied and went 3rd 3 out, stayed on
held up, in touch, not fluent 3rd, headway and chased leader approaching 4 out, 2nd and held when mistake 3 out, kept on
Celtic Son showed progressive form over hurdles last season and is interesting on this switch to chasing but lack of a recent run for Martin Pipe's gelding is of concern and preference is for Napolitain, who gets the vote ahead of Stance. The last mentioned won a novices' chase at Huntingdon when last seen in May but an absence since then is of concern so he may be best watched. The Philip Hobbs-trained Unleash had some decent form over hurdles and is progressing along the right lines over fences but this may be too tough for him. Ardaghey is lightly raced and open to improvement, while Celtic Boy's jumping is beginning to look a bit suspect. Senor Sedona represents a stable in fine form now but needs to improve and a safer bet looks to be Napolitain, who made a winning chasing debut at Huntingdon last month and, like most of Paul Nicholls' horses, should improve for the benefit of his first outing of the season.
Celtic Boy (IRE) 10-3fav (11-6) 4th when fell at the 10th in race won by Run For Paddy (11-7) at Huntingdon 3m hcp chs 0-145 (B) gd in Oct, 10 ran.
Stance 4-5fav (11-0) Held up, headway 8th, chased leader 3 out, led and hung left approaching last, ran on, won at Huntingdon 2m nov chs (D) gf in May beating Medici (11-0) by 4l, 7 ran.
Ardaghey (IRE) 3-1 (11-5) With leader and keen, led 4th, ran wide on bend after 8th, headed 10th, ridden approaching 2 out, one pace, 3rd of 6, 19l behind Star De Mohaison (10-5) at Aintree 2m 4f nov chs (C) sft in Oct.
Celtic Son (FR) 7-1 (11-6) Always behind, lost touch from 9th, tailed off when pulled up 3 out in race won by Ladalko (11-3) at Ayr 2m 6f hcp hdl (B) gd in Apr, 7 ran.
Senor Sedona 33-1 (11-7) With leader, bumped 5th, weakening when mistake 9th, 12th of 18, well behind Moulin Riche (11-7) at Cheltenham 3m nov hdl Grd 2 (A) gd in Mar.
Unleash (USA) 5-2 (10-12) Held up rear, headway when mistake 4 out, stayed on from next, led close home, won at Worcester 2m 4f beg chs (E) gf in Aug beating Bold Bishop (10-12) by 2l, 9 ran.
Napolitain (FR) 8-13fav (10-7) Close up, hit 7th, led 2 out, clear last, easily, won at Huntingdon 2m 4f beg chs (D) gd in Oct beating Rare Society (11-7) by 26l, 4 ran.
