J S Hubbuck Memorial Handicap Chase

Off time: 19:05 | Winning time: 6m 24.10s

Quest For Life^p²¹

Age: 7| Weight: 11-12| J: Henry Brooke| T: M Walford| OR: 117| C

4/1

Course winner (2m4f, good) over hurdles in May 2018; finished 15L second to Flowery on chasing debut at Sedgefield (2m4f, good) in March; not obviously well handicapped off a mark of 117.

Form: 032255-

Inchcolm²⁸

Age: 9| Weight: 11-9| J: Harry Reed⁽³⁾| T: T Davidson| OR: 114| CD

9/4

Three-time C&D winner; continued on an upward curve when determinedly fending off Purple Harry by a neck at Newcastle (2m7f, good to soft); 7lb higher here (24lb above his last Hexham winning mark); player.

Form: 11U131-

Kings Eclipse¹⁰⁴

Age: 9| Weight: 11-4| J: Callum Bewley| T: A Wilson| OR: 109| D

33/1

Making into a far better chaser (2-7) than a hurdler (0-10), although does appear to appreciate plenty of cut underfoot; 9lb above his last winning mark (Carlisle); on a retrieval mission after a below-par showing at Ayr three months ago; watch.

Form: 22F/510-

Exit To Where^p,t¹⁹

Age: 5| Weight: 11-0| J: D R Fox| T: Miss Lucinda V Russell| OR: 105

7/2

Former French racer; didn't achieve much over hurdles for Lucinda Russell (0-3), but took a significant step forward when finishing a keeping on 2½L third to stablemate Prince Dundee on April's C&D chasing debut; 5lb higher; of interest.

Form: PP/7852-

Bafana Blue^t¹⁰

Age: 8| Weight: 11-0| J: Dale Irving⁽³⁾| T: M A Barnes| OR: 105| CD

5/1

Dual course winner (2m4f-3m); bounced right back to form when beating Blue Kascade by just under 2L at Wetherby (3m, good) on his penultimate start; weakened after racing prominently at Perth latest.

Form: 6P3814-

No No Mac^p,t²⁸

Age: 10| Weight: 10-11| J: Thomas Willmott⁽⁷⁾| T: I A Duncan| OR: 102| D

8/1

Took a weak CJ's handicap chase at Musselburgh (3m, good) on his penultimate start - his first win since early 2017; shouldn't trouble today's rival Inchcolm judged upon the basis of more recent Newcastle form; stablemate of Imperial Prince.

Form: 703615-

Imperial Prince⁵¹

Age: 10| Weight: 10-10| J: B S Hughes| T: I A Duncan| OR: 101

10/1

13-race maiden who has had plenty of chances over fences (a regular on the west coast of Scotland at Ayr); 1lb lower than when finishing 27L fourth to The Horsechesnut over C&D (heavy) in March; stablemate of No No Mac.

Form: F53624-

Forecasts

Inchcolm (9/4), Exit To Where (7/2), Quest For Life (4/1), Bafana Blue (5/1), No No Mac (8/1), Imperial Prince (10/1), Kings Eclipse (33/1)

Tristan Davidson has turned around the fortunes of Inchcolm over the past 12 months, and this three-time C&D winner formed part of a double for connections at Newcastle on the afternoon of the Grand National. He must better that effort off a 7lb higher mark in order to win again, but in all fairness the vast majority of his opponents are inconsistent and make only minimal appeal. However, the exception is the Lucinda Russell-trained EXIT TO WHERE who took a noted step forward over C&D last month when introduced to fences in public for the first time, chasing home his stablemate Prince Dundee.