Tennent's Lager Handicap Hurdle

Off time: 15:06 | Winning time: 5m 42.10s

The Con Man²¹

Age: 7| Weight: 11-10| J: B S Hughes| T: D McCain Jnr| OR: 135| BF| D

9/4

Very well backed prior to Kelso success (2m5f, soft; 11-10f) in January; likely bit off more than he could handle from this mark in stronger grade at Ascot last month but ran well and rates a leading contender on that evidence.

Form: 11-2215

Whoshotthesheriff²⁸

Age: 6| Weight: 11-10| J: Sean Quinlan| T: P A Kirby| OR: 135| C| D

7/4

Dual winner as a novice last season and has faced some stiff tasks this term; December's Ascot fifth behind Not So Sleepy laden with promise and simply didn't jump well enough in last month's Betfair Hurdle; sights lowered and key player now.

Form: 11-F250

Better Getalong⁶⁵

Age: 9| Weight: 11-6| J: R D Day| T: N G Richards| OR: 131| C

7/2

Dual course winner over 2m on heavy/soft as a novice in 2017/18; both efforts this season have offered promise, including third here in January over slightly shorter and could be building towards a return to winning ways before the ground dries out.

Form: P/265-53

Sam's Gunner⁵⁶

Age: 7| Weight: 11-5| J: W T Kennedy| T: M & D Easterby| OR: 130| D

16/1

Won a couple of times over timber as a novice, including a Sandown Grade 3 over similar trip. Just the two runs last season over fences and beaten a long way as a 50-1 hope on seasonal bow/hurdles return at Wetherby in January; others preferred.

Form: 21P/32-7

Eternally Yours⁶⁵

Age: 7| Weight: 11-0| J: Callum Whillans⁽³⁾| T: D W Whillans| OR: 125| BF

6/1

Dual scorer over timber at Newcastle in 2018 (soft/heavy) and runner-up in this contest last year (rated 2lb higher); long way behind Better Getalong here in January on most recent start (sent off 2-1fav that day) so must bounce back now.

Form: 1/212-37

Non-Runners

The Dutchman⁶⁹³

Weight: 11-12| Age: 10

T: T Davidson J: Thomas Dowson

Forecasts

Whoshotthesheriff (7/4), The Con Man (9/4), Better Getalong (7/2), The Dutchman (5/1), Eternally Yours (6/1), Sam's Gunner (16/1)

He was an eyecatcher at Ascot on his penultimate start in hot company and WHOSHOTTHESHERIFF simply didn't jump well enough in last month's Betfair Hurdle to give himself a chance. This represents a class-drop and he can take advantage by building on his previous promise. The Con Man is also dropping in grade from a good Ascot event and could have further improvement to come while Better Getalong represents a stable in blistering form and has recently been hinting at a return to form.