Overview
- Willie Mullins reports Il Etait Temps in great form as the six-time Grade 1 winner seeks a seventh top-level success and strengthens his Champion Chase credentials as the current second favourite behind Marine Nationale.
- Harry Cobden takes the Jonbon ride for the first time, stepping in for Nico de Boinville for the defending Clarence House winner at a track where Jonbon is two-from-two.
- Ascot’s going is described as roughly half good to soft and half soft after 33mm of weekly rain, with the clerk expecting little change by racetime.
- A field of four features fast-rising Thistle Ask, up 43lb across four wins and likely to force the pace, plus Gidleigh Park, whose trainer targets a drop back to two miles on soft ground after a solid Ascot run in November.
- At Haydock, the Sky Bet Peter Marsh is good to soft, soft in places, with 2023 Welsh National winner Nassalam a non-runner and six remaining, including dual winner Royale Pagaille alongside Myretown and Konfusion.