Cheltenham

3.15pm

Goodbye Dancer

He didn’t fire in two starts in the summer, but at least he came down 5lb in the weights as a result and hopefully the return to Cheltenham can spark him back to form. He won well on his debut for us here last season and would have gone very close to following up had he not fallen at the last on New Year’s Day. He is 8lb lower here despite being 1lb out of the handicap, which shows you how well handicapped he is if he can return to that form.  He could do with the rain arriving early on Saturday, though.

3.50pm

Sensulano

She is another horse who could do with plenty of rain before the race. She has won on good to soft around here but all her best form has come in deeper ground, such as when winning at Fontwell and Warwick last season. I think the step up in trip could suit her, and she is on a fair enough mark. But the more rain the better for her.

4.25pm

Polish

He won at Ludlow last season and ran really well in a competitive Kempton handicap afterwards. He was a bit below his best on his reappearance at Bangor but I think that was a decent novice – and the winner followed up at Hereford on Wednesday – so hopefully he can improve on that here. He saw his races out well over 2m5f last season, and I think he has been crying out for 3m. This has been the plan for a while and he is my best ride of the weekend.

5.35pm

Masteroftheheights

This looks a very hot bumper but he could do no more than win on his debut at Fontwell and it will be interesting to see what he can do mixing it with a better class of rival here.  It will probably be tough for him but let’s see.