Matt Brocklebank's Nap won on Tuesday - don't miss Ian Ogg's Wednesday selections.
A decent renewal of a race that used to be known as the Anne Duchess of Westminster Memorial and has been won by Dan Skelton, who runs Shan Blue, three times. There may not be an Arkle in their ranks but there are some battle hardened campaigners, of whom MAJOR DUNDEE is preferred to the top-weight. His form last year wasn't as bad as the figures suggest but has seen this C&D winner drop 5lbs in the handicap and he's taken to take advantage with his yard enjoying a good spell.
A competitive little heat can go the way of top-weight ILIKEDWAYURTHINKIN who bounced back from a spell in the doldrums in the summer but remains some way below his career high rating. He didn't appear to enjoy the testing ground when coming up short in his bid for a Cartmel treble but that was still a fair performance and he can resume winning ways if returning in the same form after a short break.
ARC ZOOSVE made a promising start to his handicap career, going down by a neck over 14 furlongs at this track a little over a fortnight ago. The handicapper has bumped him up by 2lbs but he's entitled to progress after just four starts and shaped as though this further step up in trip would be right down his street.
They all hold some sort of chance in this four-runner novices' handicap chase but KELCE has plenty going for him. He's had a couple of starts over fences now and has clearly benefited from the switch, together with the addition of cheekpieces. He came nicely clear of the third when runner-up at Hexham last week and even though he's forced to run off a mark of 102 in this company, he's still effectively 1lb ahead of the assessor on the back of that improved display. Good ground seems to suit well and he'll be a hard horse to pass if getting into a rhythm out in front under Sean Bowen.
PHOENIX RISEN could be worth chancing in the conditional jockeys' handicap hurdle at Taunton. He's saved most of his better efforts for this venue over the past couple of years, winning twice over course and distance in April 2023, and he's back on a mark 4lb lower than when last successful. That's largely down to being out of sorts when last seen in the summer but the break is entitled to have done some good and his trainer Jeremy Scott was 4-20 at this venue during the 2023-24 campaign, registering a level-stakes profit of +8.50.
Flaine will be popular here but a lot went right for her on stable debut at Southwell earlier in the month and this looks a tougher assignment racing off 5lb higher from stall eight of 11. Housed down on the inside, RESPIRO SOLITARIO looks the one to be on after his better effort when fitted with a tongue-tie (retained) at Wolverhampton last time out. The assessor has eased him another couple of pounds and the drop from a 0-65 handicap to a 0-55 could be enough to yield a first career success for the son of Bated Breath.
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.