Betfred TV Conditional Jockeys' Novices' Hurdle (Qualifier)

Off time: 14:51 | Winning time: 5m 14.40s

Dieg Man¹⁶⁷

Age: 4| Weight: 11-5| J: Harry Reed⁽⁶⁾| T: N P Mulholland| OR: 129

4/5

A 2m2f winner at Auteuil in June (very soft) for Yannick Fouin, which came on the back of a good second in a conditions race the previous month. Bought for €200,000 in July, and looks very tough to beat on UK debut.

Form: 3543-21

Free Range²⁷

Age: 7| Weight: 11-5| J: Bridget Andrews⁽³⁾| T: D Skelton

5/4

Dual soft/heavy ground Irish point-to-point scorer (sold for £10,000). Made a winning stable debut under rules at Fakenham (2m good) earlier this month when forging clear of Atlantic Grey to score by 3¼L. Penalised.

Form: 2P511-1

Charin' Cross³³

Age: 5| Weight: 10-12| J: H Thompson Brown⁽¹⁰⁾| T: Micky Hammond

66/1

Well beaten on all three starts over hurdles at triple figure odds. If he is to make any impression at all in the future, it will be in handicap company. No chance on these terms.

Form: 938-88

Pc Dixon¹¹

Age: 4| Weight: 10-12| J: Thomas Dowson| T: V Thompson

150/1

Very modest on the Flat (10 race maiden for Mick Channon). Picked up for £5,500 in June, and woeful in two starts over hurdles so far, so very hard to imagine how he can arrest his steady decline.

Form: 00

Secret Passenger³³

Age: 4| Weight: 10-12| J: Mr Kaine Wood⁽³⁾| T: B Ellison

12/1

Has basically proved disappointing so far, and has shown no signs of an obvious interest in hurdling. However, has time on his side at the age of four and might feasibly be seen in a better light in handicaps.

Form: 7-67

Once An Angel¹¹

Age: 5| Weight: 10-5| J: Ross Chapman| T: M Todhunter

100/1

Point-to-Point and bumper maiden, who has shown little signs of ability over hurdles recently (at Carlisle and Newcastle). Needs a vast improvement.

Form: 2-04P8

Non-Runners

Royal Summit¹⁷⁷

Weight: 10-12| Age: 6

T: Mrs A C Hamilton J: Jamie Hamilton

Western Morning²⁸

Weight: 10-12| Age: 4

T: O Greenall & J Guerriero J: Ross Turner

Forecasts

Dieg Man (4/5), Free Range (5/4), Secret Passenger (12/1), Charin' Cross (66/1), Royal Summit (66/1), Western Morning (66/1), Once An Angel (100/1), Pc Dixon (150/1)

To all intents and purposes, this is surely a match between the penalised pair DIEG MAN and Free Range. The selection has been expensively acquired by JP McManus (€200,000) since winning on very soft ground at Auteuil in June. He'll not encounter ground anywhere near as testing on his UK debut this afternoon, but his form has a much stronger feel than that of the Dan Skelton trained runner, and he rates as banker material despite the predicted short odds.