Timeform Daily: The TurfTV Novices' Chase (Class 3), Ludlow, 2.50

Race of the Day Preview / Timeform / 25 February 2009 / Leave a Comment

Timeform rate the runners in this competitive novice chase.

Seven have been declared for this novices' chase over two-and-a-half miles, the Timeform figures headed by Bering's Express who is making his seventh start over fences.

He was successful on his first completed chase outing at Bangor having fallen there on his debut, idling once in front on his way to a three-quarter length success over Lester Leaps In. Placed on his next three starts, including a quite valuable novices' handicap event at Kempton on Boxing Day, Bering's Express not for the first time showed signs of temperament dropped to two miles at Doncaster last time, losing interest from the sixth. Although entitled to go very close here based on his Kempton form, the strong-travelling Bering's Express clearly has his quirks.

Supreme Duke is an interesting contender, having bettered anything he achieved over hurdles on his chasing debut when fourth in the same Kempton contest which saw Bering's Express finish third. Although technically left with 7 lb to find against that rival as a result, Supreme Duke left a lot of room for improvement in his jumping as he was none too fluent at the majority of fences and consequently found no extra from the second last. Still lightly raced, Supreme Duke is easily the more likely of the two to find improvement.

Having been a progressive hurdler last spring, Raysrock seems to have struggled with his jumping since being switched to fences, the switch back to his original yard from Peter Monteith not looking to have helped matters to any great extent when he was last seen at Hereford on the fifteenth. That day he shaped as though this step up in trip may suit despite his two-mile hurdle form, so should Raysrock's jumping finally come up to scratch he would be the most likely candidate to worry the two major players on form.

Dream Falcon is now in his third season as a novice over fences, though it shall be his last after he won over this trip at Ludlow in December by two-and-a-half lengths from Paquet Cadeau, the pair well clear. On his only start since, Dream Falcon unseated early on (incidentally, in the same race contested by both Bering's Express and Supreme Duke at Kempton), making the sort of blunder that he has been susceptible to in the past.

Although it has been in evidence slightly less this season, Dream Falcon has had temperament issues, often looking ungenuine.

The rest all have something to find on form. Orphelin Collonges tends to find little and is yet to convince over fences, whilst Colophony will need to step up on his hurdles form at the first time of asking and Haar was never a fluent hurdler, so it was little surprise to see him fail to complete on his chasing bow last time.