bet365 Oaksey Chase (Grade 2)

Off time: 14:25 | Winning time: 5m 41.1s

Josses Hill^p²²

Age: 9| Weight: 11-10| J: N de Boinville| T: N J Henderson| OR: 154

7/2

Capable of quality form when on song, as he showed when beating subsequent Aintree Bowl winner Tea For Two at Huntingdon in December, but not shown enough on last three starts. Will be happier going back right-handed and jumping less of a concern these days, but needs to bounce back to best.

Form: 8-11557

Menorah¹⁵⁵

Age: 12| Weight: 11-10| J: R Johnson| T: P Hobbs & J White| OR: 162

9/4

Winner of this for the last three years, and seems to come alive at this venue. Kept fresh for this (as he was last year) and at the weights, the one to beat once more. Form this season is decent anyway, but quite simply has his conditions again and this is his race. Will put up another strong fight to keep his crown.

Form: 31-2523

Third Intention^b,t²²

Age: 10| Weight: 11-6| J: Aidan Coleman| T: C L Tizzard| OR: 150

20/1

Early faller in the Topham last time out, a race he'd gone well in the year before, and had been tried over an extreme distance in the Cheltenham X-Country before that. Whilst hard to weigh up, suspicion is this trip suits better than others, but even his best form here sees him fall short.

Form: 65948F

Vibrato Valtat^p,t⁵⁶

Age: 8| Weight: 11-6| J: Sam Twiston-Davies| T: P F Nicholls| OR: 151

12/1

Despite some decent efforts at or around this distance, has never actually won at it, and there's no win on the card now since November 2015, which has to be a concern. Has won at Sandown in the past, so track no concern, but might require slightly softer underfoot conditions to show his best.

Form: 5622P5-

Art Mauresque^p1¹⁰

Age: 7| Weight: 11-4| J: Nick Scholfield| T: P F Nicholls| OR: 150

10/1

Likes quick ground and does tend to come good around this time of the year, so has a couple of things going for him, but form this season falls below what's required here and there's nothing in his armoury to suggest he can challenge the principals here.

Form: 2/11787-

Traffic Fluide^p1²²

Age: 7| Weight: 11-0| J: Joshua Moore| T: G & J Moore| OR: 156

15/8

Has always promised much, but injury has perhaps stopped him from realising his full potential as yet. Never looked particularly happy at Aintree last time, driven along from some way out but to his credit, stuck to the task to claim a distant third behind Fox Norton. Track should suit, but a bit to prove now.

Form: 3/3-4663

Forecasts

Traffic Fluide (15/8), Menorah (9/4), Josses Hill (7/2), Art Mauresque (10/1), Vibrato Valtat (12/1), Third Intention (20/1)

It would bring the house down if the ever-popular MENORAH could win this for a fourth time and despite the advancing years, he still has that touch of class about him and can pull it off again. Josses Hill can sometimes be held back by his jumping but if putting a clear round in, can claim second ahead of Traffic Fluide, who looks to be slowly coming back to form.