raced on inside, led, awkward 3 out, urged along and headed before next where weakened and mistake
raced on inside, tracked leader, led before 2 out, clear before last, ridden and stayed on strongly run-in
held up, raced widest, headway approaching 3 out, went 2nd approaching 2 out, ridden between last 2, stayed on same pace, no chance with winner
raced wide, tracked leading pair, not fluent 2nd, pushed along and outpaced 4 out, weakened next
raced on inside, raced keenly, held up until 4th, went 3rd 2 out, kept on same pace
Brandon Castle is a hard-to-catch trailblazer on his day but has been locked in a struggle for form since pulling up in the 2019 Supreme Novices Hurdle at Cheltenham. He'd be too good for this field if back to his best but the concession of 17lb to ITSONLYROCKNROLL will necessitate a much-improved effort. Chris Gordon's charge scored last time in the style of a well-handicapped performer and a rise of 5lb for that success seems acceptable. He can oblige once more. Marlborough Sounds has shown promise after only a couple of starts over timber but is certainly not discounted moving into handicaps for the first time. Aiguille Rouge and Ruacana need to improve on recent efforts.
Brandon Castle 12-1 (11-5) Raced keenly, led, hit 3 out, headed and weakened on long run before 2 out, 6th of 10, 32 3/4l behind Miranda (10-11) at Kempton 2m hcp (3) sft in Dec.
Marlborough Sounds 6-4jfav (10-12) Tracked leaders, effort 2 out, soon outpaced, 3rd of 8, 16 3/4l behind Millers Bank (11-4) at Market Rasen 2m 1f (4) gs in Dec.
Aiguille Rouge (FR) 20-1 (11-10) Towards rear, driven along before 2 out, soon weakened, 6th of 9, 26 1/4l behind Dostal Phil (11-12) at Fontwell 2m 2f hcp (3) sft in Dec.
Ruacana 20-1 (10-3) Raced wide in mid-division, weakened before 3 out, , pulled up soon after, at Sandown 2m hcp (2) sft in Jan.
Itsonlyrocknroll (IRE) 12-1 (12-0) Held up in mid-division, bumped 1st, headway 3 out, led 2 out, clear flat, stayed on, won at Wincanton 1m 7f hcp (4) sft in Jan beating Vanderbilt (11-2) by 2 1/2l, 16 ran.