INTERESTING that the first three home in Saturday’s Ladbrokes Trophy at Newbury had all had a run this season. It’s such a tough race, it may be that you need a run these days.

Smad Place could only finish fifth in the race in 2014 on his seasonal debut off a mark of 155. Alan King’s horse went back the following year and, after winning a graduation chase at Kempton on his seasonal return that year, won the Ladbrokes Trophy (the Hennessy as it still was then) on his second run, off the same mark of 155.