2:40 – Battleofthesomme 7/2
A weak race in which most, if not all, have something to prove but preference is for Battleofthesomme, who’s only had 5 starts over fences and there are reasons to expect a return to form.
Having joined Jamie Snowdon’s yard for the start of the 2019/20 season, he won impressively on his stable/chase debut, easing to a 15 length victory. It wasn’t unexpected, as he was backed from 12/1 all the way into 4/1F on the day and he duly rewarded his supporters. That race was run in a good time (97% finishing speed) and the way he finished strongly over the 2m trip gave the impression that he wouldn’t be inconvenienced by an extra few furlongs.
That win came off a mark of 81 and connections turned him out quickly to win again, this time over hurdles, just 8 days later to avoid the impending 13lb rise in the handicap.
His form tailed off thereafter, but it’s possible that the soft/heavy ground he encountered on 4 subsequent starts counted against him. By Mountain High, whose progeny do tend to prefer a sounder surface, he’s also a half brother to Replacement Plan, who’s only win came on good ground. It’s also worth noting that he was pulled out of an engagement at Fontwell due to to heavy going on the 3rd October; that at least shows that he’s been ready to run for a couple of weeks and it’s likely that the good ground he’ll get here will be more to his liking.
The yard have been ticking over nicely with a few winners in the last couple of weeks and backing the Snowden/Fuller partnership blind to a level stake would have yielded you a profit to date, albeit a small one, and they combine for a 17% S/R.
Given he went well fresh last season and with the return to good ground, a big run can be expected today. He likes to ridden prominently which suits Plumpton and given he’s only 5lbs above his last winning a mark, a repeat of last years seasonal reappearance should see him win this.
overandclear.com 