Hard for me to muster quite that much enthusiasm, krizon. For all that we think he will be a better chaser than a hurdler, I thought OTB ran in snatches today, and failed to stay-on quite as stoutly as I'd hoped.
I haven't had a chance to discuss the race with David Parry as yet, but we have generally been saving him for softer ground this winter, and I wonder if perhaps he mightn't be better on quicker going than he encountered today.
OTB went well enough in a modest bumper on Good-to-Firm last spring, and his staying-on, first-time-out effort at Carlisle on Good ground in NOvember, is arguably his best effort under rules to date. It's just possible that a combination of quicker ground, and a suitably staying trip, might see him to better effect.
I won't pretend I'm not a little disappointed though.