John Budden Handicap Chase

Off time: 16:25 | Winning time: 4m 18.1s

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Selected odds by:

Mcgroarty^t²⁵

Age: 8| Weight: 11-7| J: Sam Twiston-Davies| T: Dr R D P Newland| OR: 136| D

1/1

Beaten in excess of 6L by today's rival Yorkist at Aintree (2m, good) in November 2018; back from a break when a fair third - no match for Yorkist's stablemate Azzuri at Ayr (2m Listed, good); best on a sound surface.

Form: 511F33-

Demi Sang³⁴

Age: 6| Weight: 11-5| J: R P McLernon| T: B Haslam| OR: 134| D

9/1

Winner in France for Francois Nicolle and in Ireland for Willie Mullins; low-mileage (5-16), but has clearly lost his way since winning at Naas (2m, soft to heavy) 16 months ago; 0-2 for Ben Haslam; forecast rain a positive.

Form: 14PP/6P-

Yorkist^p,t⁴⁸

Age: 11| Weight: 11-4| J: Harry Skelton| T: D Skelton| OR: 133| D

6/1

Rated 3lb higher than when winning at Aintree in November 2018 (beat today's rival Mcgroarty by over 6L); made the frame at Wetherby on his penultimate start; disappointing at Ludlow (2m, good) more latterly.

Form: 3/14435-

Monsieur Co^p,t²⁵

Age: 6| Weight: 11-0| J: B S Hughes| T: K Dalgleish| OR: 129| CD

2/1

Has thrived since leaving Paul Nicholls for £21,000 in May 2018; 3-7 for Keith Dalgleish (including a January 2019 C&D win); 8lb above his last winning mark, and finished three places behind today's rival Mcgroarty at Ayr recently.

Form: 315116-

Forecasts

Mcgroarty (1/1), Monsieur Co (2/1), Yorkist (6/1), Demi Sang (9/1)

Just the four runners, but a very tricky looking contest. Rain is forecast, and that could mean a change in going from the advertised description of predominately Good. That would hinder the chances of three of the four declared runners, Mcgroarty, Yorkist and the C&D scorer Monsieur Co. Therefore, should such a scenario develop small stakes are aimed towards the now Ben Haslam-trained DEMI SANG in the hope that he can make the most of a free-falling handicap mark. If the rain misses Kelso, then Mcgroarty could be the most likely winner after posting a solid return to action in a 2m Listed contest at Ayr on Scottish Grand National Day.