So the horses left the start and in the lead immediately were Bindaree and Strong Resolve. They turned the bend and started to clime up the hill and as they came to the first Bindaree jumped it first and Strong Resolve is in second place with L´Aventure jumping the better of Count Campioni and jumps into third place ahead of him. The rest of the filed jump the fence well but Supreme Glory is a little slow at it.

At the second, which id the first open ditch nothing changes and all the horses give the fence the respect it deserves and jump it well.

At the third fence all the horses are bunched up and all jump it well.

At the fourth fence, the fence that used to be the water the front two Bindaree and Strong Resolve open up a gap of a few lengths, at the fence all jump it well

At the 5th the two leaders go even further ahead and now are about 6 lengths in front of the chasing pack and all jump the fence well.

The horses then run down the slope to the last in the back the downhill fence. All jump it well and the lead changes from Bindaree to Strong Resolve but both are now 10 lengths in front of the chasing pack. It is a long way to the next fence and as they run around the bend Chives shows up in third position 4th is Count Campioni, next in the field is L´Aventure, be my royal is next and then comes Lord Jack, behind then is Jim Jam Joey who is making ground, Next is Silver Birch who is being held up, He is followed by Take the Stand and Akarus, Supreme Glory, Shotgun Willey, Sir Frosty and last is Desailly.

They run around the bend and straighten up to meet the first in the home straight which ids the 7th fence today. The field starts to catch up the leaders and when Bindaree jumps the fence in the lead the field is only about 10 lengths between first and last. All horses jump the fence well and it's on to the second open Ditch.

At the 8th Bindaree and Strong Resolve are in the air together, they are two lengths ahead of third place Chives who jumps it well, be My Royal crashes through the fence and falls, The rest of the field try to avoid him and get away from the fence.

At the 9th the front two open the gap again between themselves and the pack all horses jump it well.

At the 10th the field is starting to get strung out again but all horses again jump the fence well.




At the last in the home straight all horses clear it well with Bindaree and Strong Resolve disputing the lead.





Next comes Chives who is two lengths behind them but he is two lengths ahead of the pack who are lead by Count Campioni, then comes L´Aventure, Silver birch, Take the Stand, Asparagus, Lord Jack, Jurancon II, Jim Jam Joey, Shotgun Willy, Akarus, Desailly and Sir Frosty, Supreme Glory who is last.



The pace is fast for this distance and going however the leaders are going within themselves Silver Birch is going well as is the leaders. Only the last two look to be really struggling. They go around the bend and out for another circuit. The ground rises and the field closes up again and at the top of the hill comes the 12th fence all jump the fence but the pace is starting to get much hotter now.

At the 13th fence Bindaree and Strong Promise are still out in front by a length but Strong Promise just gets a little too close and fiddles the fence. Chives is next with a beautiful jump but Silver Birch make a mistake at the fence but gets away with it. The rest of the field get over the fence and it's on to the next

At the 14th fence the back markers are now getting very tired as they can't now go with the increased pace. The field once again is starting to spread out. At the fence Bindaree is in the lead, but Strong resolve is not letting him get away. All the horses jump the fence.

At the 15th Bindaree is in the lead with Strong Promise close up They are followed by Chives who is closing and then by Silver Birch who is going well. Take the stand is next but at the back Sir frosty is very slow at the fence as it Jim Jam Joey. And these two are pulled up as the filed races on to the next.

The 16th fence is soon upon the horses and the horses that are left jump the fence well and as they get away from the fence the four in the front Bindaree, Strong resolve Chives and Silver Birch are opening up a gap on the rest.

At the 17th and the last in the back Strong resolve just gets to it first and jumps it well as does Bindaree, Chives and Silver Birch.

As they get away from the fence and go around the bend the field is completely spread out. They start to come into the straight. As they approach the fence Bindaree is staying on at one pace and Strong Resolve is about half a length in front of him. Chives is staying on well and is another half a length behind. Silver Birch is next and is going as well as any of them Take the stand is now making good ground and is just a half length away. Desailly has gone a little wider on the course to try and find some better ground. Horses at the back are now all out and looking very tiered as the leader goes on to the next.

The leaders are at the 18th and are only four from home; Silver Birch is now starting to get serious and is almost with the leading two. Bindaree has again come back to Silver birch and they rise together. Both are safely over the fence Silver birch jumps it next and the next horse is Take the Stand who gets unsighted at the fence and takes a bad fall. On the outside of the fence Desailly makes a mistake and gives his rider little chance as he unseats him. Lord Jack further back in the filed has called it a day and is pulled up before the fence. Right at the back of the field is Supreme glory who has a very tired jump, he gets away with it but his jockey can see he has given his all and pulls the horse up.

The leaders run on to three from home, Bindaree ids now all out and can give no more, he runs on but is passed by the two stronger horses today and both Strong Resolve and Silver birch jump the fence together. Bindaree is a length behind. Chives is next and makes a mistake at the fence, however he cleverly stays on his feet and runs on. Next is Akarus who is staying on and passing tired horses. L´Aventure is also staying on really well and looks to be going well but has he left it too late to catch the leaders.

On to the second last Bindaree is now just staying on but Silver Birch is going on from strength to strength but Strong Resolve after fighting off Bindaree for most of the race is not going to let Silver Birch get his own way without a fight and comes again. The two leader rise and there is only a short head between them Next at the fence is two horses together Chives who has recovered from the blunder and Akarus who is now getting into top gear. Behind them is Bindaree and Asparagus, and then L´Aventure who is starting to run on now from a long way behind.




As they come to the last Silver Birch opens up a 3 length lead, Strong resolve has given his all and has done it the hard way, he digs deep for more energy and tries to get back to the leader and jumps the fence well.







Bindaree is improving his place on the flat between fences but jumps the fence very tired. Chives is next and going well, he is trying so hard to give all the horses around him almost a stone in weight and that seems to be the only factor holding this brave horse back. Akarus jumps the fence next along with Asparagus; L´Aventure is still a long way behind but is finishing strong.




On the run in Silver Birch stays on strongly and goes on to the finishing line. Behind Strong Resolve has to now accept that he is not going to win despite a brave effort throughout the race. He stays on well but has not got enough left to catch Silver Birch. Bindaree has not given all and is falling behind and is passed by Chives who is going really well Asparagus is going on but he is passed by the strongest finishing horses L´Aventure who is going so fast at the end of this race that he looks like a fresh horse. He moves past horses like they are standing still.

At they cross the line Silver Birch has passed the line 2 lengths ahead of the field. Ruby Punches the air he is delighted. Strong resolve has run his heart out today and has put up the performance of his life and crossed the line in second place. 1 ¾ length behind is Chives who has done a fabulous job of carrying over 11st and adds a third place to his second back in 2002. Next to cross the line is just a neck behind is the strongest finishing horse in the field the young L´Aventure who just leaves his run in too late. 1 ¾ lengths behind and 5th is last years winner Bindaree who has run on just out of a place but has lost nothing in defeat here. The to cross the line is Asparagus. Next to cross the line a few length behind is Akarus. In 8th position Shotgun Willy who has done well just to finish today. Behind him is Count Campioni who is 9th. There is only one more horse to finish today and that is Jurancon II who is 10th and last.

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