held up, headway 4th, weakening when pecked badly 8th, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out
held up, headway 6th, ridden after 3 out, weakened flat
chased leaders, went 2nd 3rd, ridden approaching 2 out, no extra flat
chased leaders, mistake 1st, lost place 4th, headway 8th, ridden after 3 out, soon weakened
jumped well, led 2nd, shaken up and drew clear flat, easily
led to 2nd, chased leaders to 6th, weakened quickly
Nagano may put one over on Figaro du Rocher, with True Mariner, Dangerousdanmagru and Cosmocrat the other leading players. Nagano has not stopped improving since being sent over fences, winning his last two contests at Folkestone and Ludlow. His latest effort at Ludlow was particularly noteworthy as he shrugged off a seven-pound penalty against experienced opposition, so the fact that he back in novice company makes him the one to beat in our eyes. He goes on the ground, handles today's trip well and with regular pilot David Dennis in the plate gain, hopes are high that he can defy a 12lb rise in the weights. Figaro du Rocher will give him plenty to think about with his front-running tactics, but he is not the safest conveyance and he too has a penalty to overcome for a recent Doncaster success. True Mariner is only five-years-old and so the decision to put him back in trip is probably the right one at this stage of his career, and to be fair he did meet a decent rival at Kempton in the shape of Robert Alner's Duncliffe. Dangerousdanmagru disappointed at Plumpton and again has more on his plate, and Cosmocrat, who had to battle hard to win at Ludlow, has a job on to concede weight to Nagano who has the scope to defy his rise up the weights.
