Orkney Blue
The favourite doesn’t appeal at the current price, particularly as he’s entered and declared for a 2m hurdle race on Wednesday instead of this 2m4f trip.
Orkney Blue caught the eye on debut in a bumper at Hexham in April, finishing second by a neck.
He initially ran green but rallied strongly to mount a challenge. Despite appearing outpaced with a few hundred yards to go, he found extra effort late on and nearly secured the win.
He offers an attractive price for his hurdle debut, especially with all rivals also making their jumps debut.
While the market will provide further clues, Orkney Blue looks like a promising each-way option for now.
Flic Ou Voyou
The 2.05 is a Veterans’ Handicap Chase, where recent form plays a crucial role, reflected in the pricing of the top four in the market.
Marown is narrowly the favourite at around 2/1, having placed in the top three in his last eight races, including all six last season.
However, the Milan gelding has only two wins over fences and appears to prefer 3m.
Flic Ou Voyou, in contrast, has been regaining form with two seconds this year before a win last time out, beating Boomslang over this distance. That victory marked his first in over a year and a half.
Importantly, he is the only leading contender not making his seasonal debut, a notable advantage in a veterans’ chase like this.
For Pleasure
This is an unusual race, as Magistrato has been performing well over fences recently, with strong finishes behind Imperial Saint, Beat Box, and a win over Kauto The King in July.
Yet, he reverts to hurdles, where he’s only won once, with his last effort in this discipline dating back to September 2023.
Similarly, For Pleasure returns to hurdles despite eight previous starts over fences, his last in 2022.
From 25 hurdle runs, he has secured six wins, including a dominant victory here last December.
He also ran well at Plumpton last month at 15/2 on his first start since a wind operation and could be poised to capitalize on a reduced mark.
While he has to concede significant weight to Sanitiser, the favourite, who recently broke his hurdles maiden just eight days ago, For Pleasure could make a strong case under Sean Bowen for Olly Murphy.
