Kristoffersen Carpets & Flooring Handicap Hurdle

Off time: 13:36 | Winning time: 3m 54.10s

Diamond King^p1,t²⁶⁰

Age: 11| Weight: 11-12| J: Lewis Stones⁽⁷⁾| T: O Murphy| OR: 148| D

4/1

2016 Coral Cup winner; fitted with newly applied cheekpieces on debut for Olly Murphy (formerly with Gordon Elliott); off the track since April 2018 (Punchestown); vulnerable over 2m at a sharp track but the undoubted class act in the line-up.

Form: P/53P1P-

Prince Charmin'^t¹⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 10-4| J: R Johnson| T: Tim Vaughan| OR: 126| D

5/2

Hasn't competed over hurdles since late 2017 but switches back to timber after a couple of AW spins for Tim Vaughan (bought for £17,000 in August 2018); handicap mark of 126 could prove fair; market helpful and a definite contender.

Form: 431/1FP-

Martila^h⁵²

Age: 7| Weight: 10-0| J: Sean Quinlan| T: Miss P Robson| OR: 117| D

1/1

Runner-up on four of her five starts at Kelso (all over 2m); competes from outside of the handicap as a result of the presence of Diamond King; beaten 10L by Le Patriote (fourth) in this grade (Class 2) on her penultimate start.

Form: 15-2444

The Herds Garden^p¹²

Age: 10| Weight: 10-0| J: B S Hughes| T: D McCain Jnr| OR: 112| D

17/2

Winner on his most recent start at Catterick (2m, good) on New Years Day beating the quirky Baratineur by 1½L; competes from outside of the handicap as a result of the presence of Diamond King and faces a tough task on that basis.

Form: 46-F421

Non-Runners

Diocese¹⁸

Weight: 10-0| Age: 6

T: R M Smith J: Non Runner

Forecasts

Martila (1/1), Prince Charmin' (5/2), Diamond King (4/1), The Herds Garden (17/2), Diocese (14/1)

A muddling race with the presence of the veteran Diamond King giving the handicap a very lopsided look. He is the undoubted class act in this race as a former winner of the Coral Cup (2016) at the Cheltenham Festival. However, he's also potentially extremely vulnerable over 2m around a sharp track and without the benefit of a run since April 2018. Therefore, the logical option is the Tim Vaughan-trained PRINCE CHARMIN' who has warmed up for this race with a couple of spins on the AW at Lingfield and Wolverhampton. Kelso regular Martila is best of the remainder.