Happy 80th Birthday John Jarvis Classic Novices' Chase

Off time: 15:20 | Winning time: 4m 52.40s

Louis' Vac Pouch^h²⁰

Age: 7| Weight: 11-4| J: J McGrath| T: Henry Oliver| OR: 141

1/16

141-rated hurdler; comfortable 2¼L winner on chasing debut at Ludlow (2m, good to soft) 20-days ago; faces nothing as strong as Style De Garde here and ought to win with another clear round of fencing.

Form: 6100-01

Along Came Theo^p²⁰

Age: 9| Weight: 10-12| J: C O'Farrell| T: A Crook| OR: 97

11/1

15-race maiden; again made the frame over hurdles at Ayr (2m5f+, soft) latest, and with the top-two in the weights excluded rates as the clear pick of the remainder on his belated chasing debut.

Form: 22P-283

News For Pascal¹⁶²

Age: 11| Weight: 10-12| J: J Kington| T: S G West| OR: 79

28/1

19-race rules maiden (2-10 in PTP's); tailed-off at odds of 40/1 at Hexham (3m) in September; not considered.

Form: 4-22009

Dream On Dreamer^t²¹

Age: 5| Weight: 10-3| J: Mr Aiden Blakemore⁽⁷⁾| T: L Egerton

50/1

Poor Flat maiden who has struggled on both starts over hurdles (at Catterick); hard to envisage her being a chaser in the making (debut today); no chance barring accidents.

Form: 687

Non-Runners

Niven³

Weight: 11-4| Age: 6

T: P A Kirby J: Thomas Dowson

Forecasts

Louis' Vac Pouch (1/16), Niven (2/1), Along Came Theo (11/1), News For Pascal (28/1), Dream On Dreamer (50/1)

With a trio of virtual no-hopers and his main rival Niven set to be turned out quickly after being comfortably held by Cool Mix at Newcastle on Saturday, this represents a simple option for the Ludlow scorer LOUIS' VAC POUCH. Granted a clear round of fencing he will almost certainly hold all of the aces and should really make it two from two over the larger obstacles with ease.