led, headed 3rd, behind from 8th
held up, mistake 2nd, lost place 6th, effort 9th, soon no impression
held up, mistake 2nd, behind when blundered 8th and pulled up
pulled hard, soon in touch, hit 3rd, chased winner from 8th, mistake next, weakened approaching 2 out
held up, headway approaching 8th, mistake next, soon ridden, stayed on to chase winner flat but not reach winner
tracked leaders, mistake 2nd, weakening when mistake 8th
held up, hit 3rd, chased winner 4 out, weakened last
led 3rd, hit 5th, clear 4 out, jumped left 2 out, kept on
William Bonney, Keepthedreamalive and Pauillac are the three to lookat here with Pauillac taken to come out on top. Three time hurdle winner William Bonney was run out of it in the closing stages by Pauillac last time and though the winner carries a penalty here he can uphold the form. Pauillac was an odds on favourite for his chasing bow and had to work hard to beat William Bonney but he has soft ground here and can be seen to better effect. In contrast, Keepthedreamalive was winning at the eleventh attempt over fences when scoring last time after some near misses. He is a little one paced, but is experienced and should not be discounted. Pauillac can score again.
Keepthedreamalive 3-1 (11-0) Made all, slow jump 1st, clear 7th, jumped right last, won at Towcester 2m 3f nov chs (3) gs beating Flying Falcon (11-0) by 17l, 6 ran.
Pauillac (FR) 8-15fav (10-7) Chased leader, led after 7th, made rest, driven after last, stayed on strongly and in command final 100 yards, won at Lingfield 2m beg chs (4) gd in Nov beating William Bonney (11-0) by 3l, 6 ran.
Blue Canyon (FR) 9-4 (11-0) Held up, headway approaching 4 out, driven and beaten before 2 out, 3rd of 5, 21l behind Dear Villez (10-11) at Plumpton 2m 4f beg chs (4) sft.
Dont Call Me Derek 14-1 (11-3) Behind, driven and struggling before 3 out, tailed off and pulled up 2 out in race won by Victram (9-12) at Sandown 2m lst hcp hdl (1) sft in Mar '06, 21 ran.
Its A Dream (IRE) 16-1 (11-7) In touch until weakened 4 out, 13th of 19, well behind Black Jack Ketchum (11-7) at Cheltenham 3m nov hdl Grd 2 (1) gd in Mar '06.
Ruairi (IRE) 14-1 (10-13) Chased leaders until weakened from 3 out, 5th of 12, 11l behind Pass It On (11-2) at Market Rasen 2m 6f beg chs (4) gs in Nov.
William Bonney (IRE) 4-1 (11-0) Held up, headway to track leaders 7th, chased winner next, driven and effort 3 out, no extra final 100 yards, 2nd of 6, 3l behind Pauillac (10-7) at Lingfield 2m beg chs (4) gd in Nov.
Kruguyrova (FR) 10-1 (11-6) Tracked leader, hit 4 out, challenged next, led 2 out, soon headed, kept on flat, 2nd of 7, 1/2l behind Refinement (11-6) at Kempton 2m 5f lst hdl (1) gs in Nov.
Zariyan (FR) (10-8) Mistakes, one pace from 2 out, 5th of 10, well behind Jetty Dancer (10-6) at Auteuil 2m 2f hdl hvy.
