disputed lead mistake 11th, ridden and headed narrowly before last, regained narrow lead after last, kept on and headed near finish
disputed lead, ridden before 3 out, narrow lead and not fluent last, soon headed, kept on gamely to regain lead near finish
in touch in 4th, pushed along after 5 out, weakened 4 out
tracked leaders in 3rd, mistake 11th, pushed along and outpaced before 4 out
Union Du Chenet is related to numerous winning jumpers and though showing only moderate form over hurdles could be a different proposition now tackling fences. Master Mariner is a very moderate point-to-pointer who ran surprisingly well on his debut under Rules at Newton Abbot but faces much better opposition. COWARDS CLOSE, a winning point-to-pointer and dual winning hurdler, jumped superbly to score over fences at Taunton and though penalised may just be too good for the much more experienced Allthekingshorses, who is a real staying type and may not be suited by this small field
Cowards Close (IRE) 6-4fav (10-12) Always prominent, led 2nd, headed next, jumped right 7th, led next, driven clear 3 out, ran on well, won at Taunton 2m 7f nov chs (4) gd in Apr beating Gunna Be A Devil (10-9) by 18l, 4 ran.
Allthekingshorses (IRE) 9-1 (11-6) Soon tracked leader, driven after 5 out, ridden to lead next, hard pressed 2 out, kept on until headed and no extra flat, 2nd of 12, 4l behind Upham Atom (11-10) at Exeter 3m 6f hcp chs 0-125 (3) gd in Apr.
Master Mariner (IRE) 10-1 (10-5) Tracked winner, ridden before last, kept on and always well held run-in, 2nd of 5, 3 1/2l behind Mr Mole (11-4) at Newton Abbot 2m 5f nov chs (3) gd in Apr.
Union Du Chenet (FR) 16-1 (10-11) In touch, pushed along before 4 out, soon weakened, tailed off and pulled up before 3 out, in a race won by Everaard (10-2) at Doncaster 3m hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gs in Feb, 10 ran.
