Weatherbys Hamilton Graduation Chase

Off time: 14:36 | Winning time: 4m 10.1s

Nuts Well³⁶

Age: 7| Weight: 11-9| J: B S Hughes| T: Mrs A Hamilton| OR: 143| CD

9/1

Hardy 2m hurdler who has already made his mark over fences, winning this race by ¾L from Derintoher Yank in 2017; back from 11-months off when recovering from a mistake at the last to beat subsequent winner Vosne Romanee at Kelso (2m1f).

Form: 215/21-1

Dolos^t³¹

Age: 5| Weight: 11-6| J: H Cobden| T: P F Nicholls| OR: 152| D

10/11

Top-rated (152); his best effort last season was when beaten narrowly by Theinval in the Listed Scotty Brand at Ayr (2m+, good) in April, and he perhaps found the combination of trip (2m5f) and ground (heavy) too much on his Newton Abbot return.

Form: 13272-2

Highway One O One²³

Age: 6| Weight: 11-2| J: Tom Cannon| T: C Gordon| OR: 140| BF| D

7/2

Made all (despite jumping right throughout) when beating Flying Tiger by 6L on chasing debut at Newton Abbot (2m) in September, but found wanting at a shade of odds-on behind the Paul Nicholls-trained Dynamite Dollars (2m1f Market Rasen) since.

Form: 1012-12

Chesterfield¹⁰

Age: 8| Weight: 10-12| J: Daniel Sansom| T: J W Mullins| D

9/2

Solid hurdler (148-rated) - caught close home in the Swinton Hurdle (Grade 3) at Haydock in May; no match for Claimantakinforgan in a 2m Uttoxeter Beginners' Chase ten days ago, and this looks trickier still.

Form: 4143-22

Mister Kit²⁵

Age: 10| Weight: 10-12| J: Callum Bewley| T: C Grant| OR: 126| C

25/1

Well suited by this particular track (1,1,2,2,2) in a fairly light racing career for his age; shaped encouraging on recent return to action over C&D last month when a 2+L runner up to Luckofthedraw; stiff task on unfavourable terms.

Form: 24242/2

Treshnish¹⁸

Age: 5| Weight: 10-12| J: Henry Brooke| T: J Parkinson & S Smith| OR: 121| D

100/1

121-rated hurdler (2-6); regularly displayed a good attitude as a novice, but appears best served by a test of stamina (plenty of cut) over 2m trips; posted a modest chasing debut over C&D last month; highly unlikely given such unfavourable terms.

Form: 13177-5

Non-Runners

One For Billy¹⁷

Weight: 11-5| Age: 6

T: D Skelton J: Harry Skelton

Forecasts

Dolos (10/11), Highway One O One (7/2), One For Billy (4/1), Chesterfield (9/2), Nuts Well (9/1), Mister Kit (25/1), Treshnish (100/1)

A high quality race for a Monday, so full marks to the Carlisle executive for offering up such a contest. 2017 winner Nuts Well is a hardy type who managed to overcome a mistake before seeing off the subsequent Ascot scorer Vosne Romanee on seasonal return at Kelso, so he enters the equation despite the concession of plenty of weight. One For Billy is on a retrieval mission following his Cheltenham misdemeanours, whilst the likes of Highway One O One and Chesterfield will be winning races over fences in lesser grade. Therefore, the pick is the top-rated DOLOS. He represents a bang in-form trainer with a stunning Carlisle strike-rate since 1991 (5-12; 42%).