Read Silvestre De Sousa At 188Bet Novices' Handicap Chase

Off time: 14:47 | Winning time: 5m 41.30s

Onlyfoolsownhorses^t²³⁹

Age: 7| Weight: 11-12| J: Finian O'Toole⁽³⁾| T: Micky Hammond| OR: 115| C| D

17/2

Progressed quickly over hurdles last summer, winning three on the bounce (2m4f to 3m) rising from a mark of 98 to 115. Off since August 2017, and goes over fences for the first time with a few ground reservations.

Form: P3-1112

Skipping On^h⁹

Age: 9| Weight: 11-9| J: Patrick Cowley⁽⁵⁾| T: Laura Morgan| OR: 112| D

5/2

Failed to land the hat-trick (from this mark) over 2m here last week when beaten 1L by Cracking Find. Fair to say that he went down fighting, and he seems to stay this trip (2m4f Southwell winner), so couldn't be dismissed.

Form: 1UD112

Romulus Du Donjon⁹

Age: 7| Weight: 11-0| J: Lorcan Murtagh⁽⁵⁾| T: R Dobbin| OR: 103

6/5

Very much improving over fences with added experience. Beaten just a short-head by Asking Questions over 2m5f here last week (soft), and that horse has run well since at Newcastle on Sunday.

Form: 174532

Crawfords Mill¹⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 10-13| J: B S Hughes| T: S R B Crawford| OR: 102

7/2

Runner up in her final start in a point-to-point (3m) in November 2017, but 0 from 5 for this trainer over hurdles and not overly progressive. Makes her rules chasing debut on ground she handles.

Form: 4-20437

Non-Runners

Imperial Prince⁷²

Weight: 11-0| Age: 9

T: I A Duncan J: D R Fox

Forecasts

Romulus Du Donjon (6/5), Skipping On (5/2), Crawfords Mill (7/2), Onlyfoolsownhorses (17/2), Imperial Prince (33/1)

Not an overly taxing introduction to chasing for the returning Onlyfoolsownhorses, but without a start since August 2017 and with some concerns as to his prowess on soft to heavy ground, the safest option is the improving ROMULUS DU DONJON. His trainer Rose Dobbin is enjoying her best ever season, and after going down narrowly to Asking Questions here last week (run well since at Newcastle on Sunday), he's hopefully another winner to add to a fast growing tally for the Alnwick based handler.