3:05 Haydock Tips

Effectively 13 lbs higher than his win LTO, given he's racing 4 lbs out of the handicap. That form looks good, with the 0.5L runner-up winning a novice by 20L next time out. Has improved for a trip and steps up another 4f here, with the yard having a winner yesterday, so clearly in good form.

Makes his belated seasonal reappearance here. Having his first run since having wind surgery. Admittedly his reappearance record isn't the greatest. Not recently anyway. To be fair, he's won twice when fresh, despite pulling up on reappearance the past two seasons. They were very competitive Class 2 races. The yard were out of form at the time also. The yard are going great guns at the moment, which is always helpful. He sits just 1 lb above his last winning chase mark. That win came in a stronger race than this one. He got up to beat the ultra-consistent The Changing Man by just over 1L over a slightly shorter trip than this one (3M). The front two pulled 20+ lengths clear of Val Dancer in third. The latter is a 130-rated chaser for context. The former is now rated 143. He also placed off that mark of 143 LTO in the Coral Gold Cup. He's got a course win to his name over a middle-distance trip (2M 4F). He beat Good Work by 3L. To be fair, he was going away at the line and could have won by further if need be.