AND THE NEW has been nowhere near his best in four runs since his seasonal debut in the class 2 Castleford chase at Wetherby (2m,soft) in December. Now 20lb below his mark that day, and with cheekpieces fitted for the first time he took full advantage of the drop in class to win very easily, albeit in a race were only 8 fences were jumped. He'll get reassessed now, but has a bit in hand if this signals a return to something near his best.