held up in touch, not fluent 2nd, hit next, slow 4 out, struggling when mistake 3 out
prominent, jumped right 1st, not fluent 6th (water), lost place before 12th, soon pushed along, weakened before 3 out
made all, jumped well, ridden and went clear approaching 2 out, comfortably
raced in touch, joined leader 12th, ridden for effort before 3 out, no extra approaching last
NonRunner
A reduced field with the defection of Paint The Dream. Shut The Box and GOA LIL finished practically upsides at Wincanton and meet on the same terms. But that completion should have boosted the confidence of Nigel Twiston-Davies’ four-year-old after a fall at Ludlow and he can come out on top today. Captain Blackpearl has been raised a massive 13lb after forging clear at Kempton but Evander has dropped 2lb since his third at Market Rasen and is improving.
Captain Blackpearl 9-2 (11-3) Tracked leaders, went 2nd 4 out, led soon after 2 out, ran on strongly, won at Kempton 2m 4f hcp (4) gd in Nov beating Champagne Noir (11-6) by 13l, 6 ran.
Goa Lil (FR) 11-2 (11-1) Tracked leader, mistake 1st, jumped right 4th, left in lead 6th, headed when mistake 4 out, recovering when jumped right last, kept on flat, 4th of 9, 4 1/2l behind Tamaroc Du Mathan (11-5) at Wincanton 2m hcp (3) gs in Nov.
Evander (IRE) 6-1 (10-12) Led, pushed and headed before 3 out, ridden before last, kept on, 3rd of 8, 11 1/2l behind Ballyhome (11-8) at Market Rasen 2m 5f hcp (3) gd in Nov.
Shut The Box (IRE) 10-1 (10-3) Held up towards rear, progress into midfield 8th, ridden and lost ground before 4 out, rallied into midfield 2 out, ran on from last, 3rd of 9, 4 1/2l behind Tamaroc Du Mathan (11-5) at Wincanton 2m hcp (3) gs in Nov.
Paint The Dream 12-1 (11-2) Held up in last, not fluent 6th, hit 11th, disputing 3rd after 12th, outpaced after 3 out, looked likely to press for 2nd before 2 out but soon held in 3rd, 3rd of 4, 23 1/2l behind Protektorat (11-7) at Cheltenham 2m 4f (2) gs in Nov.
