mistake 1st, held up in touch, headway on outside 11th, chased leaders 4 out, chased winner before 3 out, edging right when lost 2nd 2 out, no chance with leading duo when mistake and lost 3rd last, weakened
chased leader, led briefly 6th until after next, pressed leader, led again 11th, in command 2 out, stayed on well
raced wide, held up in last pair, outpaced 4 out, struggling when mistake 3 out, soon driven, kept on flat
held up in rear, slow 3rd, headway on inside 9th, chased leaders 12th, ridden on outside and no impression 3 out, went right 2 out and last
took keen hold, chased leading pair, slow 4th, slow and lost 3rd briefly 9th, went 2nd soon after 3 out, ridden and lost 2nd before next, driven and weakened quickly soon after, tailed off
led, narrowly headed 6th, led again after next, headed 11th, chased winner until after 4 out, soon outpaced, rallied to 3rd last
chased leaders in 4th, went 3rd briefly 9th, chased winner 2 out, soon no impression, stayed on same pace
last pair, dropped to rear 8th, struggling after, tailed off
A tricky opener as most of these would have some sort of chance on their best form. Escort'men was due to run at Warwick yesterday, however, while Lucy's Legend has struggled since being upped in grade. Storming Gale is gradually getting his act together and was beaten less than two lengths over 3m here last time while Milarrow was second over course and distance on Boxing Day and filled the same spot behind Politeo at Wincanton. Mickelson is still a maiden over fences but was a decent hurdler and can't be ignored, though we prefer LEXICON LAD. He's well treated on his defeat of Loch Ba at Warwick last season and the heavy ground was to blame for him being pulled up last time at Cheltenham. Stablemate Triangular is preferred to Ludlow winner Filbert and Midnight Sail of the others.
Filbert (IRE) 7-1 (11-0) Held up in mid-division, headway 7th, went 3rd going well after 8th, challenged 4 out, led next, driven and stayed on well flat, won at Ludlow 2m nov chs 0-125 (4) sft in Jan beating Sustainability (11-0) by 1 1/4l, 11 ran.
Midnight Sail 3-1 (11-11) Held up tracking leaders on inside, mistake 10th, ridden and no impression in 4th place 4 out, beaten when went right next, 4th of 6, 28l behind Simply Wings (11-3) at Plumpton 2m 4f hcp chs 0-130 (3) hvy in Jan.
Triangular (USA) 9-1 (11-11) Held up towards rear, headway before 10th, went 4th 5 out, one pace, 4th of 8, 16l behind The Chazer (11-2) at Doncaster 2m 3f hcp chs 0-130 (3) sft.
Storming Gale (IRE) 40-1 (10-11) Held up in last trio, headway 12th, went 3rd 4 out, went 2nd before 3 out, challenged 3 out, soon led, ridden before last, joined and hit last, headed and unable to quicken flat, lost 2nd close home, 3rd of 10, 1 1/2l behind Prince Of Pirates (11-10) at Kempton 3m hcp chs 0-140 (3) gs.
Mickelson (IRE) 6-1 (11-5) Held up in rear, headway over 2f out, led approaching 1f out, soon headed, no extra, 2nd of 11, 2 1/2l behind Dr Livingstone (11-5) at Lingfield 2m n h flat (4) std in Jan.
Milarrow (IRE) 8-1 (10-8) Tracked leaders, went 2nd after 12th, led approaching 2 out, headed before last, one pace, 2nd of 8, 8l behind Politeo (10-8) at Wincanton 2m 5f hcp chs 0-140 (3) hvy in Jan.
Lexicon Lad (IRE) 15-2 (11-6) Towards rear, struggling 12th, tailed off when pulled up before 2 out, in a race won by Plein Pouvoir (11-4) at Cheltenham 2m 5f cond hcp chs (4yo+) (3) sft in Dec, 12 ran.
Lucy's Legend (IRE) 8-1 (10-9) Chased leading pair until 5th, lost 4th and weakened 6th, 5th of 7, 23l behind Nozic (10-10) at Kempton 2m hcp chs 0-135 (3) gs.
Escort'men (FR) 28-1 (10-0) Behind, mistake 11th, headway before 2 out, stayed on towards finish, 3rd of 7, 10l behind Molotof (11-0) at Warwick 2m 4f hcp chs (2) hvy.
