Verdict

Lieutenant Rocco wasn’t beaten far when third at Chepstow and again jumped well when runner-up in decent company at Cheltenham. Though he is conceding lumps of weight, Nick Mitchell’s charge shouldn’t be far away again. Muckamore made mistakes at Market Rasen and will need to jump better but he probably has a future over fences, as does Wagner. FRANCKY DU BERLAIS has yet to finish out of the frame over the larger obstacles and is proven over the track and on the ground so gets the nod.

Formwatch

Limited Reserve (IRE) 20-1 (11-6) Held up in rear, lost touch end of back straight, tailed off jumping 3 out, pushed out, 3rd of 7, dist behind Sevarano (11-12) at Exeter 2m 3f hcp (3) sft in Dec.

Muckamore (IRE) 2-1fav (10-12) Prominent, hit 4 out and soon pushed, ridden before 3 out, weakened late on, 6th of 8, 24 1/2l behind Ballyhome (11-8) at Market Rasen 2m 5f hcp (3) gd in Nov.

Le Milos 66-1 (10-7) Mid-division on inside, weakened 3 out, 10th of 15, 34 1/4l behind Nordano (10-0) at Ascot 2m 3f hcp (2) sft in Feb.

Wagner (IRE) 10-3 (11-4) Pressed leader, upsides 3rd, settled behind leader 4th, led 4 out, ridden and headed 3 out, soon weakened, 5th of 9, dist behind Le Cheval Noir (10-12) at Carlisle 2m 4f (4) hvy in Nov.

Francky Du Berlais (FR) 9-2 (12-3) Held up towards rear, headway 3 out, stayed on from 2 out, went 2nd flat, no impression on winner, 2nd of 11, 4 3/4l behind Ouro Branco (11-9) at Wincanton 2m 4f hcp (4) sft in Dec.

Lieutenant Rocco (IRE) 16-1 (11-0) Led, not fluent 8th, driven and headed flat, no extra towards finish, 2nd of 4, 3 3/4l behind Fusil Raffles (11-8) at Cheltenham 2m 5f (2) sft in Dec.

Chooseyourweapon (IRE) 11-2 (11-0) Raced in last, behind 5th, tailed off before 5 out, pulled up after, at Chepstow 2m (4) sft in Nov.