The winner of this race 12-months ago, things haven’t quite gone to plan for Paul Nicholls’ 10-year-old this season, but CLAN DES OBEAUX looked back to his imperious best at Aintree last time. He held off the Irish Gold Cup Winner Conflated on that occasion despite having perhaps hit the front a little sooner than Harry Cobden would have liked. Although this looks to be a deeper race than 12-months ago, he arrives fresher than some of his main rivals and with no doubts over his stamina, he should still have plenty in reserve in the closing stages. With the Nicholls yard operating at a 46% strike rate in the last 14-days, he looks good value for a second win on Irish soil.
