Cheltenham

1.50pm

Brave Eagle

We had three in here at the five-day stage but we rely on Brave Eagle. Ideally, he would want good ground but he has actually won on heavy in the past, so hopefully he will be fine. He will strip a lot fitter for his return at Chepstow and the handicapper dropped him 3lb for that, which brings him just above his winning mark in the Summer Cup at Uttoxeter last year. Admittedly he hasn’t shone around here in the past but I can see him running a nice race. Basically, the better the ground the better his chance though, and hopefully the blinkers help him, too.

3.00pm

Countister

She needed it at Ascot on her return and the handicapper has dropped her 5lb for it. Some of her better efforts are around here, most notably her third in the County off a 3lb higher mark than this, and she can handle soft ground, too. She certainly has her chance in what is obviously another very competitive Greatwood.

4.05pm

Firestep

We pulled him out of his intended debut at Chepstow because of the heavy ground, so hopefully it doesn’t get that bad here. He is a nice sort, out of a dam who won on her bumper debut for us, so let us hope he can follow in the family footsteps!  It’s probably a pretty tough ask on his debut against experienced rivals, but he does have ability, for sure.