We start with the 12:55, a novice chase over just shy of three miles which has attracted a field of five. Barring dramatic improvement from the unexposed And The Man, this race boils down to a match between Rival d'Estruval and Saphir River. On hurdles form, it's Saphir River who'd get the nod, but he's yet to prove himself over fences and shaped like something of a non-stayer over three miles at Haydock last time. Therefore, we're siding with Rival d'Estruval, who could find no better than a fairly useful level over hurdles but has taken off over fences, winning impressively at Carlisle in October before going down only to Bold Sir Brian there last time. His old quirks seem a thing of the past now and he looks to have enough going for him to account for Saphir River here.
We don't have to wait long for SmartPlay number two, coming just half an hour later in a handicap hurdle over an extended two miles. A few of these are going the right way, but few as much as Anna's Arch who has simply taken off this winter. A bumper winner last summer before having a couple of fairly quiet runs in novice hurdles, Anna's Arch improved drastically to win by 22 lengths here last month then followed up with ease at Sedgefield three days later. You might have expected his mark to have gone up more than 19 lb for his efforts, yet that's where he sits ahead of this race and, with further improvement far from out of the question, he rates as the likeliest winner in our book.
Our final selection comes in Kelso's final race, a novices' handicap over the best part of three and a half miles staged at 15:25. The field unsurprisingly contains a number of slowcoaches, but there are a couple potentially going the right way, chiefly Lord of Drums. Trained by Lucinda Russell, he hasn't really featured since finishing a fairly remote third on debut, but he's stoutly bred and has often left the impression he's being brought along slowly. The fact that Lord of Drums has been upped almost one and a half miles in trip for this handicap debut hardens that view in no uncertain terms, and with his pedigree suggesting that stamina will be his forte he makes for a very interesting contender in this race.
Timeform UK SmartPlays
All at Kelso
Back Rival d'Estruval @ 2.01/1 in the 12:55
Back Anna's Arch @ 4.131/10 in the 13:25
Back Lord of Drums @ 3.185/40 in the 15:25
