'Emily Pattison' Novices' Chase

Off time: 15:20 | Winning time: 5m 21.3s

Settings

Selected odds by:

Longtymegone^p²⁸

Age: 9| Weight: 11-4| J: Sam Coltherd⁽³⁾| T: W Coltherd

50/1

A very fortunate 16/1 winner of the prestigious Buccleuch Cup (3m2f, good to soft) at Kelso in April; pulled up in a 3m Men's Open on the PTP course here since; well out of his depth against these opponents.

Form: P/PP11-P

Notwhatiam^t¹⁴

Age: 9| Weight: 11-4| J: Harry Skelton| T: D Skelton| OR: 135| CD

8/11

Almost certainly is flattered by his official rating of 135. However, it was impossible to fault his May C&D win (good) - made all, kept on strongly, unchallenged; has since bumped into the useful Potterman (a stablemate of Fidux) at Worcester.

Form: 34P4-12

Cudgel¹⁴

Age: 6| Weight: 10-12| J: C O'Farrell| T: J Walton| OR: 73

50/1

Home bred with all of the attributes to be a chaser (out of the 2m-2m5f winner Posh Stick); steadily getting to grips with racing and was a pleasing second over hurdles here (3m) a fortnight ago; faces a very tough task on these terms.

Form: 0575-72

Fidux²⁹

Age: 6| Weight: 10-12| J: Wayne Hutchinson| T: A King

6/5

142-rated hurdler, and an 8L winner of a Listed contest at Ascot (2m, good) last November; ideally could've done with slightly less rain ahead of his chasing debut, but in receipt of 6lb from Notwhatiam should prove tough to beat with a clear round.

Form: 11003-U

Donnas Dream^b¹⁴

Age: 6| Weight: 10-5| J: Jamie Hamilton| T: M Walford

16/1

Still early days for Mark Walford (formerly with Chris Grant); runner up in a Class 5 handicap hurdle here last month (3m, good); is expected to struggle on chasing debut on such disadvantageous terms; can't win barring accidents.

Form: 344-024

Forecasts

Notwhatiam (8/11), Fidux (6/5), Donnas Dream (16/1), Cudgel (50/1), Longtymegone (50/1)

Assuming that all of the fences are jumped proficiently, at these weights this basically boils down to a straight match between the chasing newcomer FIDUX and the May C&D scorer Notwhatiam. Although it was difficult to fault the performance of the Dan Skelton-trained 9yo, he has incurred a 6lb penalty for that success and on hurdles ratings is considered 7lb inferior to Fidux. Therefore, the Alan King-trained 6yo who was a Listed winner at Ascot in November is entitled to take all of the beating with a clear round.