John Ingles provides an overview of the key things to note on Sunday.
Horses In Focus renew rivalry from Catterick
Carlisle’s card features some competitive handicap chases which are the Finals in the season-long Go North Series. They include the Red Rum Series Final over three miles (15:52) which sees an interesting rematch between a pair of young chasers who fought out a close finish at Catterick last time and both look the sorts to keep on side.
On that occasion it was Mark Walford’s Chasingouttheblues who came out on top by half a length from the Joel Parkinson & Sue Smith-trained Paddy O’Mahler but both horses earned the ‘Horse In Focus’ flag and they top the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings here. Wearing cheekpieces for the first time, Chasingouttheblues was winning for the second time over fences after opening his account in a novices’ handicap at Wetherby in December when coming from a seemingly impossible position. He pulled the race out of the fire late on again at Catterick too, being two lengths down at the last before staying on to lead in the final hundred yards.
Chasingouttheblues held an entry in last weekend’s Midlands Grand National and will stay long distances given the chance, so while he remains at three miles here, Carlisle’s stiffer finish should suit him much better, and he can confirm Catterick placings with Paddy O’Mahler from a 2 lb higher mark.
Shaool progressing in leaps and bounds
The Flat card at Naas features the listed Devoy Stakes (16:22) over an extended ten furlongs where most of the field of eight are returning to action for the first time this year. Sunchart goes well in the mud and has an excellent record first time out as he is bidding to win this race for the third year running, having been pulled up over hurdles when last seen in October.
He has place chances but is getting on in years and might find younger mares Shaool and Beset, the top two in the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings, too hot to handle. Both ended 2025 on the up, particularly Shaool who was improving in leaps and bounds for Johnny Murtagh when last seen in the autumn. She got off the mark on her handicap debut at Leopardstown in the summer but ran her best races on her last couple of starts, winning the valuable Northfields Handicap at the Curragh on Irish Champions Weekend in emphatic fashion and then storming clear to land a listed race at Leopardstown in October by six lengths from the Aidan O’Brien trained three-year-old Acapulco Bay.
Shaool earned the ‘Horse In Focus’ flag at Leopardstown where she looked one to follow in 2026, and with the going heavy that day, she won’t be at all inconvenienced by the forecast testing conditions here.
Wolfburg set to improve again
Back at Carlisle, the Monet’s Garden Series Final (16:27) can go to 'Hot Trainer' Sandy Thomson’s chaser Wolfburg who has been shaping well over fences at an ordinary level and looks the most progressive runner in the line-up from towards the bottom of the weights.
Wolfburg had been struggling for form for a while but had another breathing operation in the autumn and really turned a corner when fitted with cheekpieces and a tongue tie for the first time at Wetherby on Boxing Day. Always prominent and going with zest, he turned that novices’ handicap into a one-sided contest in pulling nearly ten lengths clear. His stamina was stretched when third over a longer trip at Catterick next time, but he got back on the up when narrowly beaten over today’s course and distance last month.
But for a scruffy jump when mounting his initial challenge, Wolfburg might have come out on top last time, but he couldn’t quite peg back leader Trac and went down by a head to a rival who reopposes here. However, Wolfburg earned the ‘Horse In Focus flag’ for that effort and tops the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings so is fancied to gain compensation.
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