Newcastle

11.45pm

Art Of Diplomacy

He showed a good level of form on the Flat from a limited number of opportunities, displaying his ability to handle testing conditions when winning over 1m4f at Hamilton in September. And it will be very testing here if, fingers crossed, the meeting gets the green light after the covers come up on Saturday morning.

12.55pm

Imperial Alcazar

I made no secret about how highly I regarded him before he made his reappearance and hurdling debut at Aintree last month. And he showed a tremendous attitude to get the job done there. He may have won by only a nose but that was clearly a very hot maiden hurdle, with the next two home winning next time, and this is a very good horse, make no mistake. He has obviously shown he handles testing conditions well, so hopefully he will be fine on the heavy ground here, and the extra 2f won’t be a problem. Our team continue in superb form, and I’d say Imperial Alcazar has improved since Aintree, too.