13:55 Ludlow
Still Believing for Evan Williams won last time out in heavy going over two furlongs further than this. She has been raised ten pounds for that win and this is a step up in class so I feel it is a big ask for her to take this. She did win over track and trip in this class three runs ago but I am not confident she will be able to cope with the extra weight. Having Lewis Gordon on board claiming seven pounds is sure to be helpful though so she is not one to right off completely.
Dolores Delightful is trained by Nick Williams and she was pulled up in heavy going at Exeter last month over a trip that was probably a little on the short side. She is the same rating as her last win so if reproducing that form she has a definite chance, especially with promising claimer Lizzie Kelly riding and taking five pounds off.
Tambura won a soft ground class three event in November and looks a nice horse, however she is now eleven pounds higher than that win and her previous race was in a lower grade she wasn't quite good enough to take that, therefore I have reservations for he her and it would take a mightily impressive performance to win.
Brise Vendeenne is the youngster of the field at five years old and the Philip Hobbs trained French horse has looked as though she has been crying out for today's extra distance. She was a modest third in a good race last time out at Sandown and was staying on in the latter stages so is sure to appreciate the extra half a mile today. She has any amount of improvement in her and with Richard Johnson back on board I think she will be very hard to stop today.
South Africa v England
The final test of this four match series starts tomorrow morning with the series already in the bag for England as they lead 2-0. The confidence of the South African team will be at a very low point after they were dismissed for just 83 in their second innings Johannesburg and I expect England to keep the pressure on them.
Alastair Cook hasn't converted any of the starts he has made so far into big scores and now the pressure is off with the series won, I think he is due a decent score. We can back him at 7/1 to be the top batsman in this match and I think there is a little bit of value in that price. When Cook does get him he is notoriously difficult to get out and has amazing powers of concentration, so I am hoping he can go onto accumulating one of his large hundreds in this match.
Today's Selections
Ludlow 13:55 - Brise Vendeenne - 1 point @ (Abandoned)
Alastair Cook top batsmen - 1 point @ 7/1 (StanJames)