Placed in all three starts since joining the stable of Paul Nicholls, the ex-French-trained Indien Royal looks to have been found a decent opportunity to open his account over hurdles. The son of Dauphin Du Bourg has lost nothing in defeat behind the likes of Kadara, Mughas and Red Wine in those outings and, with nothing of that sort of calibre in opposition here, he can gain a well deserved first success. Majestic Bay has claims on his best but the stable of Jim Old are yet to hit form and the biggest danger to the selection could be Alan King's Alleged Slave, who's second to Mister McGrath in January reads well in the context of this race. The others make very limited appeal.
