Tony McFadden provides an overview of the key things to note on Saturday.
Irish Blaze interesting on first start for Nicky Richards
Irish Blaze was disappointing towards the end of his spell with Cian Collins and failed to complete on either start last winter, but he has since joined Nicky Richards - a move which has generated Timeform's Trainer Uplift Flag - and makes his reappearance with his new yard in fine form.
Richards has sent out 13 winners from 47 runners, at an impressive strike rate of 27.7%, since the start of November and, unsurprisingly, has Timeform's Hot Trainer Flag. Of the trainers who have had at least 25 runners over jumps in Britain in that time, only Sam Thomas (39.3%), Jamie Snowden (34.3%) and Philip Kirby (28.6%) have operated at a better strike rate.
Irish Blaze has been off the track since x, but Richards' record with horses returning from an absence offers encouragement he might be able to hit the ground running. Since the start of the 2020/21 season, backing each of Richards' horses running in a handicap after an absence of 150 days or longer would have generated a profit of £61.82 to £1 level stakes.
Irish Blaze clearly comes with risks attached in the two-mile handicap hurdle (12:55) at Haydock, but he's potentially well treated on the pick of his chase form for his former stable.
Faniculla Del West looks open to significant improvement
The Timeform 'small p', which denotes that a horse is likely to improve, is frequently seen on racecards, but the Timeform Large P, used to show that a horse is capable of much better form, is awarded much more sparingly.
One horse that has been deemed worthy of the 'Large P', however, is Faniculla Del West following an encouraging debut in a mile novice at Newcastle last month.
Faniculla Del West, a sibling of multiple winners, including the high-class Jakkalberry, looked green on debut but very much caught the eye by the line, running on into fourth.
She's entitled to be much sharper with that initial experience under her belt so looks a big player back over the same course and distance (16:55) on Saturday.
Unpenalised Upepo has strong claims on ratings
Upepo had been struggling since returning to action in September but he cashed in on a tumbling mark at Lingfield on Wednesday, justifying good support in the process.
Upepo was suited by stepping back up in trip to a mile and a half at Lingfield, but he deserves credit for how readily he put his stamp on a steadily-run race, quickening up well to score by three lengths.
As that victory came in an apprentice handicap, Upepo is able to escape a penalty and run off the same mark in the mile-and-a-half handicap (18:15) at Wolverhampton. That leaves him looking well treated and places him 3 lb clear on Timeform's weight-adjusted ratings, while he also has the + symbol to highlight that he could be rated even higher based on some of his older form.
He represents the in-form Tony Carroll who sent out a winner at Southwell on Friday to take his tally to the year to 126. Only six trainers have sent out more winners on the Flat in Britain this season.
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