bet365 Novices' Chase

Off time: 15:05 | Winning time: 3m 57.90s

Caid Du Lin^p,t²¹

Age: 6| Weight: 11-6| J: Sam Twiston-Davies| T: Dr R D P Newland| OR: 139| D

1/2

133-rated hurdler; made a fairly smooth winning chasing debut at Worcester (2m+, good) last month, with today's main rival Dear Sire (now 6lb better off) finishing 5½L back in third; logical choice despite now encountering a more undulating track.

Form: 220P2-1

Dear Sire²¹

Age: 6| Weight: 11-6| J: B S Hughes| T: D McCain Jnr| OR: 137| D

6/4

142-rated hurdler; produced a mixed bag over fences so far following his seamless winning debut at Cartmel (2m5f, good) in July; has 5½L to find with Caid Du Lin (now 6lb worse off) based on recent Worcester form.

Form: 12-01F3

Kisumu^p,t³³

Age: 6| Weight: 11-0| J: Finian O'Toole⁽³⁾| T: Micky Hammond

100/1

34-race maiden, including 0-18 over hurdles; surely booked for third place at best on chasing debut (granted a clear round of fencing).

Form: 8V7340

Psychology^p,t¹⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 11-0| J: Aaron Anderson⁽⁷⁾| T: Kenny Johnson

200/1

Strong, sizeable good looking sort, but has proved disappointing so far (0-11 on the Flat, and 0-3 over hurdles). Barring accidents holds no realistic chance on chasing debut.

Form: 00/P60

Forecasts

Caid Du Lin (1/2), Dear Sire (6/4), Kisumu (100/1), Psychology (200/1)

Effectively a match race, with both Kisumu and Psychology likely to struggle to complete even if misfortune occurs to both CAID DU LIN and Dear Sire. The selection made a winning chasing debut at Worcester last month, and should once more have the measure of the Donald McCain-trained rival despite a 6lb turnaround at the weights.