The Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained gelding had always looked to be a chaser in the making and he has shown promise in two starts over the larger obstacles so far this season. 

Following a third-placed finish behind Flooring Porter on his debut over fences in October, he chased home stablemate Broadway Boy to finish second in a Listed event at Cheltenham last month. 

With plenty of experience at this course being an advantage for him, plus the significant improvement he has shown over fences, this thorough stayer is presented with a feasible opportunity to record his first win over fences.

Calico was perhaps a tad unfortunate not to win here in November and faces Madara and Prince Escalus again. However, with the presence of a few potential front-runners, preference is for In Excelsis Deo, who was last seen finishing a never-nearer third here in October.

Whether it was intentional to miss the November meeting only Harry Fry knows, but it may prove a shrewd move as this stiffer test of stamina looks sure to suit. The form of the October races is strong, and this unexposed five-year-old should be up to winning this if building on his seasonal reappearance.

The concern is that he failed to back up his promising first run last season, but he can be given a chance here given his lightly-raced profile.

An Emmet Mullins-trained runner in a valuable handicap always has to be respected, and So Scottish looks primed to go close here. 

He travelled well for a long way in a handicap at the Cheltenham Festival last season before the petrol gauge emptied close home, but the New Course looks certain to suit, and it's easy to forgive his unseat at the Punchestown Festival.

He had a lovely pipe-opener at Gowran Park over hurdles and there could still be more improvement to come, given he has only raced six times over fences. 

Kudos to Dan Skelton for running Protektorat in this event, but it does mean that Easy As That gets to carry a featherweight for Venetia Williams whose horses remain in good form (19% strike-rate in the past fortnight). 

The eight-year-old looked in need of the run on his return in the Paddy Power, staying on to fill sixth.

He was held up that day and despite never looking likely to trouble the pacesetters, he stayed on in eye-catching fashion in the closing stages.

The main issue is the trip. This is his first try over three and quarter-miles, but he does give the impression that a step up in distance could suit and he gets the vote in a competitive event.

Theatre Glory attracted plenty of support ahead of her return at Ascot last time out and while she failed to justify favouritism, she shaped as though the outing was needed having travelled powerfully (she touched 1.48 in running) before fading in the closing stages to finish third behind two race-fit rivals.

"She doesn’t do much at home so it’s hard to gauge how fit she really is," Nicky Henderson advised in his Unibet blog before that outing, so I think her weak finishing effort there would have been due to her lacking race fitness.

Better can be expected with that run under her belt and Henderson's mare produced some strong form last season, including when sixth in the Mares' Hurdle. She was also a close third behind the talented Knappers Hill in a Grade Two on her final outing of the campaign.

Based upon her best performances last term, a rating of 143 looks fair and she could be capable of outclassing her rivals at this level.