William Hill Half A Mill Classic Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap) (GBB Race)

5YO plus | Class 1 | 3m 5f 54y | 8 Runners | Turf

Age: 11| Weight: 12-0| J: Charlie Deutsch| T: Miss V Williams| OR: 162

Classy chaser who added to his tally when taking the Grade 2 Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham (25.2f, soft) last January. Appeared to be struggling at halfway before staying on to finish a good second in a handicap off this mark back at Cheltenham on his seasonal reappearance last month. Solid claims.

Form: 24/31P-2

Image of Stars that are filled with the colour gold

Mr Vango^p,t³⁵

Age: 10| Weight: 11-7| J: Jack Tudor| T: S Bradstock| OR: 155| BF| D

Won all 3 starts last term, including the Peter Marsh at Haydock and 4¼m Midlands National at Uttoxeter. Upped his game again when narrowly denied in the Becher at Aintree on return last month, for which a 3 lb rise is fair. Looks tailor made for this test and he's high on the shortlist.

Form: 3P/111-2

Resplendent Grey^p⁴²

Age: 8| Weight: 11-4| J: S Bowen| T: O Murphy| OR: 152| D

Ended last season with a win in bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown and backed that up with a reappearance success in 2½m Carlisle listed chase. Wasn't at his best in another major handicap at Newbury last time but will be a serious contender here, provided that he gets into a good rhythm.

Form: 2441-10

Nassalam^b⁵⁵

Age: 9| Weight: 10-11| J: Caoilin Quinn| T: G & J Moore| OR: 145WS

Wide-margin winner of 2023 Welsh National off this mark but subsequent form figures make for disconcerting viewing (pulled up 5 times from 6 starts since that Chepstow victory). Has undergone a wind op since latest appearance and needs to bounce back in a major way.

Form: P0/PP-PP

Myretown⁴²

Age: 9| Weight: 10-8| J: D R Fox| T: L Russell & M Scudamore| OR: 142| BF

Coped extremely well with the demands of a big-field handicap when landing the Ultima in good style at last season's Cheltenham Festival (25f, good to soft). Fell at around the halfway point on return in the Coral Gold Cup but generally a sound jumper and he remains open to improvement over fences.

Form: 51F11-F

Destroytheevidence^v1²⁴

Age: 8| Weight: 10-2| J: C Gethings| T: K Bailey & M Nicholls| OR: 135

Hasn't added to last season's Chepstow chase debut success in 7 subsequent starts in this sphere but placed on several occasions, including when runner-up at Ludlow (23.8f, soft) last time. Now tried in a visor and promises to be suited by this stamina test but this demands a clear career-best.

Form: 522-932

Joyeux Machin^p²⁸

Age: 9| Weight: 10-2| J: Harry Atkins⁽⁷⁾| T: D Skelton| OR: 133

Some good efforts in defeat over hurdles last term, including when going close in a valuable race at Uttoxeter during the spring. Wasn't entirely disgraced returned to this sphere at Doncaster (3m, good to soft) last month but he was never travelling with much purpose. Others preferred.

Form: 322-784

Val Dancer^p³⁵

Age: 9| Weight: 10-2| J: Charlie Hammond| T: Mrs M Rowley| OR: 130

Scaled new heights last term, scoring on return at Carlisle before winning the Welsh National at Chepstow. No show on seasonal reappearance but back on track when third in the Becher at Aintree (25.8f, soft) where he finished around 4 lengths behind Mr Vango. Each-way claims.

Form: 3/112-93

Non-Runners

Torn And Frayed²⁹

Weight: 10-2| Age: 12

T: N & W Twiston-Davies J: Non Runner

Forecasts

Myretown (11/4), Mr Vango (10/3), L'Homme Presse (4/1), Resplendent Grey (11/2), Val Dancer (8/1), Joyeux Machin (12/1), Destroytheevidence (12/1), Nassalam (20/1), Torn And Frayed (25/1)

Quality over quantity is the order of the day in this valuable handicap and MR VANGO, who still appears to be progressing judged on his reappearance near-miss at Aintree, gets the nod. He has proven to be a real star for connections and he possesses all the required attributes for this assignment. The best is surely yet to come from Cheltenham Festival winner Myretown and he is feared greatly, while the classy L'Homme Presse and Resplendent Grey are other key contenders.