Verdict

All three have a chance in this intriguing little contest but SILK DRUM is narrowly preferred to Thumbs Up and Riguez Dancer. The last-named travelled well when scoring at the track last time out and he shouldn't be inconvenienced by the drop in trip today. He handles soft ground and looks an improver, but the form of his last run doesn't leap off the page. Silk Drum has been off since winning at Kelso in October but he signed off there with a very ready win. He jumped well which will be a huge asset around here and with soft ground no problem and adaptable in regards to tactics he looks the most dependable. A lot may depend on how Thumbs Up takes to fences. He looks the sort to do well in this sphere despite being flat-bred and his trainer will have a good line on Riguez Dancer having beaten him with Reindeer Dippin two starts back. The market may be a useful tool in finding the winner here, but without that information we will plump for Silk Drum.

Formwatch

Riguez Dancer 11-10fav (11-0) Held up, headway 11th, went 2nd before 2 out, driven to lead approaching last, stayed on under pressure flat, won at Sedgefield 2m 4f beg chase (4) hvy beating Middleton Dene (11-0) by 2 1/4l, 5 ran.

Silk Drum (IRE) 4-9fav (10-7) Led from 3rd, ridden flat, kept on well, won at Kelso 2m 1f beg chs (4) gd in Oct beating All For The Cause (11-2) by 4l, 4 ran.

Thumbs Up 7-1 (11-10) Took keen hold in mid-division, weakened before 3 out, 8th of 13, 49l behind Qozak (11-10) at Taunton 2m 1f hcp hdl 0-135 (3) sft in Jan.