Tony McFadden provides an overview of the key things to note on Monday.
Three points of interest
Heart Wood well clear of rivals on ratings
Heart Wood quickly developed into a very smart chaser last season, winning a valuable handicap at the Dublin Racing Festival by a wide margin before finishing a good third behind Inothewayurthinkin in the Grade 1 Mildmay Novices' Chase at Aintree, and he has raised his game further this term.
Heart Wood was unable to pose a serious threat to the impressive Fact To File in the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival last month but he still ran a cracker in second, pulling clear of the last two winners of the race, Envoi Allen and Protektorat.
That high-class effort was a clear career-best performance from Heart Wood, earning him a Timeform rating of 164, and is the pick of the form on offer in the Grade 2 chase (16:20) at Fairyhouse on Monday. Heart Wood is also suited by the terms of the race and comes out 10 lb clear on Timeform's weight-adjusted ratings, so he looks to have been found an excellent opportunity.
Coup de Force bidding to enhance fine all-weather strike rate
Coup de Force is a multiple winner on turf but there's no disputing that she possesses an eye-catching record on artificial surfaces.
Coup de Force's victory at Southwell when last seen in November took her record on the all-weather to five wins from nine starts - even more impressive when you consider they were all in handicaps - and she heads Timeform's weight-adjusted ratings for the six-furlong handicap (16:40) at Kempton following a 3 lb rise.
Her supporters will be heartened by the good form of trainer Stuart Kittow who has had two winners and a further three placed from only seven runners on the Flat in April. The winners were both making their seasonal reappearances, as were the two who finished runner-up.
Profile points to improvement from Prescott's Synergism
Since the start of 2020, Sir Mark Prescott has operated at a strike rate of 17.4%. However, that increases to an impressive 26.8% when only considering his three-year-olds making their handicap debuts over at least nine furlongs.
Like many that have gone before him, Synergism didn't show much in a trio of starts over inadequate trips as a juvenile, but his trainer's record, and his pedigree, suggest he's likely to do better over longer trips.
Synergism is by Soldier Hollow, a dual-purpose sire whose progeny includes the top-class hurdler Arctic Fire, and is a half-brother to dual hurdles winner Sherminator. He started at triple-figure prices for his three starts in maiden company but will be significantly shorter on his handicap debut over nine and a half furlongs (14:45) at Wolverhampton on Monday.
The conclusion to the Timeform report from his last start read: "Will be suited by 1m+ and the chances are he'll do a fair bit better at some point, especially next season." Synergism, who has been gelded since last seen, has the Timeform 'small p' to highlight he's a likely improver.
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