Thursday tips: Dave Nevison marks your card

Like many from his yard this 6yo was French bred but this one has only raced over here and his only win so far has come in a novices hurdle at this track. It definitely looks as though he will make up into a better chaser and he showed promise over too short a trip before falling on his chase debut. St Cyr De Pail’s jumping improved on his latest start finishing fourth at Uttoxeter though jumping right at a couple of fences suggest he will be better suited going this way round. Jane Williams has her team in good form and this is a not the most competitive race and could be an opportunity to score a first chasing win. 

I wasn’t the only one who backed Cherry Cobbler who went off a fairly short favourite last time out and watched Stuart Williams’ 3yo gelding get going far too late to make any sort of challenge. The drop to the minimum trip last time was definitely a concern before I got involved but at the earlier available odds I felt it was a risk worth taking. Cherry Cobbler made it pretty obvious that 5f is too sharp for him and this step up in trip is required for him to show improvement. I feel the son of Zoustar has plenty of upside in him and can get back on the up in this competitive event. 

Uncle Don has been on the go for a long time but is still running consistently well and was only beaten ¾ length when finishing fifth at Lingfield last time and was still closing at the line. Richard Fahey’s gelding is always held up for a late challenge and as a result doesn’t always get the breaks but with a very strongly run race predicted here this could be a real opportunity for him to excel. His rider Ethan Tindall is getting plenty of rides for Fahey and his 7lbs claim on top of a gradually falling mark suggests he can go very close.