A tricky novice chase where Royal Emperor looks set to land another course and distance victory, with Look Collonges and Silver Knight the main rivals. Sue Smith's gelding was most impressive when dealing out a 20 length thrashing to Native Emperor, with Silver Knight a long way back in third. He's improving all the time and if he puts in a clear round he will be very difficult to beat. Silver Knight is better than that performance suggests and if repeating his course and distance running back in November he should be a lot closer. The biggest threat however should be Look Collonges who chased home the impressive Rosslea at Kempton last month. Of the remainder Rum Pointer and Drombeag have shown plenty of ability and could take a hand in the finish, but Royal Emperor will be a tough nut to crack and is given the nod.
