Weird Al is one that again seems to be a bit of a forgotten horse. If we take out both his runs at Cheltenham his record is exceptionally good, and a lot of horses simply don’t act there. He got about ½ way in the gold cup apparently with a broken blood vessel which is hardly ideal, but I don’t think he would be in here at all if the trainer didn’t think he was back to form. As with a lot of the Horses near the top of the handicap he is a few pounds well in. His 3^rd behind Kayto Star & Long Run looked to me to be his best run ever. He tends to travel well and could easily be suited to this race. He also has the advantage of being with the stable that knows more about what’s needed here than anyone else. 66/1 with 5 places looks worth a small ew bet.

½ Point ew Bet365 66/1 12345

Poor day yesterday Frankie Figg missed the start and appeared to be going well until a mistake 3 out. Both in the Hurdle ran ok but didn’t get a great run trough and might do something soon enough. -4.5 points yesterday Pricewise had no luck either. The Challenge now stands at Pricewise -10 LongshotValue +16.10.

https://longshotvalue.com/longshotvalue-v-pricewise/

Black Apalachi has a great record around the course and I’m surprised he is drifting in price this morning. The overnight rain wont do him any harm, and although he does look high enough in the weights 50/1 EW with 5 places at StanJames is defiantly the wrong price. He came back after 2 years off and ran a great race to be second to former favourite Prince De Beauchene, with good horses behind and given some improvement from that run he’ll more than likely give anyone that backs him a great run for their money.

½ Point EW Stan James 50/1 12345

Poole Master is somewhat overlooked in this race mainly because things didn’t go his way in the Coral Cup at the Festival. He ran up a sequence before that and on his second last run beat a decent Nicky Henderson horse. In my eyes (and the handicappers) there isn’t much between him and the likes of Gullinbursti who is far shorter. He is currently 75 win 15 place on Betfair and looks worth a small bet at those odds.

½ Point Win 72 ½ Point place 15 Betfair

Planet of Sound seems to be the completely forgotten horse of this race. He has a lot going for him here. The ground has come up good or near it which will be perfect for him. This year he has had two very good runs and has been kept for this since. 2^nd in the Hennessy of 2lbs higher really looks to confirm his wellbeing in my eyes. I don’t know how he isn’t in the 16-20/1 range and ill happily take 33/1 EW with 5 places which is on offer nearly everywhere. There is 40/1 with 4 places on Will Hill but I like the extra place in this race.

1pt EW 33/1 5 places.

A decent day with my biggest bet Menorah winning well advised at 11/2. I was a bit dissapointed with Oiseau De Nuit as i had a fair amount on misplaced confidence in him but still 7 point profit from the day is good any day.

The Pricewise challange score now stands at Pricewise -7 LongshotValue + 20.6

Cocozza: I like the idea that this one was heavily punted for the Lincoln last week. He has some very decent Irish form last year, and possibly the Lincoln didn’t suit with the huge amount of runners. He ran far too keen to have anything left and this race might just suit better. He is one of the most unexposed runners in the race and the stable is in cracking form the 14/1 with Stan James looks a decent bet.

1 pt win 14/1 Stan James

An Ghalanta: This selection has some very good 2yo form having raced against some of the stars of last year at various times. He has a good 5f listed win at the Curragh, and some excellent placings, including a 3^rd behind Born to Sea, which looked particularly good in that he really stuck his neck out and rallied despite leading from the start. He looks well overpriced on Betfair at 30 win and 7 place and if he can get to the lead here he stands a great chance of placing at least.

1pt win 1 pt place Betfair 30/7