YOU couldn’t put anyone off favourite The Conditional in this afternoon’s McCoy Contractors Civil Engineering Classic Chase at Warwick. He entered many notebooks when he won a decent handicap chase at Cheltenham’s October meeting, and he entered many more when he ran a big race to finish second to De Rasher Counter in the Ladbrokes Trophy at Newbury at the end of November.

He has just turned eight, and that was just his ninth chase, and just his third run for David Bridgwater. That said, he is up another 5lbs for his Ladbrokes Trophy run, he is 11lbs higher than he was when he won at Cheltenham in October and, more importantly, he is fashionable now. He is short enough for today’s contest.