towards rear, behind from 6th, hit 11th, never dangerous
made all, ridden approaching 3 out, clear next, easily
always towards rear, never a factor
in rear, chased clear pair from 7th, never dangerous
tracked winner, hit 4th and 5th, blundered 4 out, soon beaten
Kentford Fern was a useful winning hurdler before injury curtailed her career but the daughter of El Conquistador showed on her recent comeback that she retains all her old ability on her chase debut earlier in the month. The Willie Mullins-trained mare made a bold bid to make all on her first start for 14 months at Folkestone and lost no caste in defeat as lack of peak fitness told in the closing stages. Sure to be sharper for the outing, the eight-year-old can dominate this small field and gain compensation with conditions in her favour. Parlour Game has not looked a natural over the larger obstacles but was in the process of running well last time before being badly hampered and is better than the bare form would suggest so should give the selection most to fear ahead of Mill Emerald. The latter won a couple of poor events over hurdles before making a disappointing start to her chase career when well beaten at Huntingdon last month and needs to show significant improvement to trouble the judge.
