This looks a proper little Class 4 handicap rather than a weak Monday night affair, and there are a few with perfectly fair claims. Even so, the race makes most appeal as a chance for Champion Again Ole to pick up where he left off.
Roger Varian’s four-year-old is not the finished article yet and that is the key point here. He signed off last season with a career-best win at Kempton over this trip, and the manner of that success suggested a 7lb rise may not stop him. He travelled like a horse ahead of his mark that day, found enough when it mattered, and the form has a solid look to it. In a race where plenty of these are exposed enough, he is the runner with the clearest scope to do better.
The obvious threat is Brazilian Rose, who comes here race-fit and arrives with the strongest recent HRB figure. Rebecca Menzies’ mare has been in good nick right through the winter and her latest fourth at Lingfield was another sound effort. She is reliable, she handles the surface well, and from stall 3 she should get a sensible run through. The problem is that she may now be in the grip of the handicapper, whereas Champion Again Ole still looks capable of going past his mark.
Beaming Light is the one Timeform are most interested in and there is logic to that view. He ran well when narrowly beaten over further here last time and a drop back to 7f on a track that suits could work nicely. In a race where the expected pace is not strong, his tactical position may prove important. He is weighted to be competitive, but he still needs to show he can finish the job off in this grade.
Monsieur Kodi is another with solid claims after winning at Lingfield last time. He has been admirably consistent and a good draw in stall 1 is no bad thing around here. The concern is whether he has enough in hand off this higher mark in a race that looks a shade stronger than the one he won.
Candonomore is not ruled out either. He is better judged on his earlier 7f form than his latest run over a mile, and Stuart Williams’ runners are always worth respecting in these all-weather handicaps. He looks more likely to run his race than to improve past them, though.
As for the rest, Pressure’s On is weighted to be competitive on the best of last year’s turf form, but he returns from a break and has a wide stall to deal with. Spirit Lead Me and Kit Gabriel both need plenty to fall right and look up against it.
The market will probably keep Champion Again Ole honest, and rightly so. He has the profile of a horse who can climb higher than this level, and in a race where several of his rivals look fully exposed, that matters.
Verdict
Champion Again Ole is the pick.
He has the most upside, comes from a yard that does well at Wolverhampton, and looks the one most likely to improve past his current mark.
Main danger: Brazilian Rose
Best of the rest: Beaming Light