Trophy may leave its mark

THAT was one ferocious renewal of the Ladbrokes Trophy and I wouldn’t be in a hurry to back any of those involved at the business end before February, let alone over the Christmas period.

I know Native River and Elegant Escape have gone on to win the Welsh National after competitive runs at Newbury, but generally speaking last weekend’s feature is a rotten guide to Chepstow. They went a no-nonsense gallop from start to finish and the principals will have slept well Saturday night, that’s for sure. And that includes Remastered, who took a pearler four out and he’s probably still seeing stars. Thank the Lord he got up to fight another day.