Dave Nevison's top tips for Thursday: Prepare for Battle at Taunton

I'm hoping he will come on considerably for his seasonal debut at Kelso where he ran very much as though he was fresh and keen after his break and clearly blew up before staying on again noticeably well after the last.

It looks very much as though three miles is going to be his trip, which is no surprise given his pedigree, and many of Olly Murphy’s have been looking to need at least one run this term. He is still lightly raced, looks the part, and I expect him to be running outside 0-115 company in the near future. He has form on heavy too, so if the rain hits Taunton I won’t be worried.

On his final start in the summer this six-year-old was beaten at Southwell, which might have looked disappointing at the time, but within a few months the winner of that race was rated 127, so attempting to give him 6lb when he had a mark of just 104 was in fact asking a lot.

He reappeared after four months off to run a creditable second at Fontwell and can build on that here. The handicapper dropped him 1lb for getting beaten less than a couple of lengths and I expect that to be proven a generous gesture.

Landed a gamble in good style last time and has no penalty as that was a conditional riders' event. He must surely be a good thing to follow up here despite the large field, having made a seriously impressive sweep into the straight at Wincanton. This similarly sharp right-handed track should suit him well and Tom Scudamore takes over here.