De Rasher Counter and Imperial Aura have a few questions to answer after a break, whilst the consistent Eldorado Allen needs to prove his stamina as he attempts 3-miles for the first time. That should leave the race between the principles CLAN DES OBEAUX and ROYALE PAGAILLE.
At the weights, CLAN DES OBEAUX is 6lbs well in here, but it is debatable whether he is still worth his rating of 172 after a somewhat fortunate 2nd placed finish in the King George at Kempton in December. We should also remember that he was beaten in this race 12-months ago by his stablemate Secret Investor and so the preference is to back ROYALE PAGAILLE against him.
He won the Peter Marsh at Haydock for a second time last month, giving away weight to all his rivals and producing a career best effort in the protest. He could get an uncontested lead here under Charlie Deutsch and if he does, he could prove hard to peg back.
