Popmaster is clearly highly regarded given he was entered for a Group 3 later in the week, however preference is for Bergerac for the Kevin Ryan team who have started the season in strong form.
Bergerac gets an 8lb swing with Popmaster for a 1.25 length runner-up finish at Doncaster 5 starts back over todays trip, and this 4yo remains open to plenty further improvement.
He currently holds a fitness edge in this field having returned with a pair of 3rd placed efforts at Southwell and Doncaster in March, twice outrunning his rating by around 5lbs with solid performances on the RPR’s.
He pinged the gates last time out and travelled well from the front however maybe just lost concentration at times and the cheekpieces are now applied to sharpen him up.
This son of Kodi Bear appears well handicapped if taking another step forward off a mark of 89, is nicely drawn in stall 8 and is given the solid booking of Neil Callan in the saddle.