Verdict

Woody Valentine has obvious claims and can remain unbeaten, with Always Flying, Karelian and Coming Again all facing a tough task to stop him. Venetia Williams has her team in good shape at present and Woody Valentine can keep the ball rolling by adding to what was an easy debut success over hurdles at Warwick at the start of the month. The son of Woodman had that race in the bag a long way out, and the fact that the runner-up Diego Cao was rated higher than him on the Flat and was more experienced, shows how much he has taken to the winter game. A penalty is unlikely to stop him from following up and he gets a confident vote. Always Flying may appreciate the drop back in trip after trying to make all at Catterick on his timber debut but still has it to do, as does Coming Again, who to be fair, came up against an above-average rival in Carte Diamond at Newcastle. Of the rest, Karelian is worth a mention, but he was a stayer on the level and is likely to need further than today's trip over the obstacles. Woody Valentine will be a short price but is hard to oppose.