Fast-ground specialists needed over fences at Leicester

Fast-ground specialist Larkhall has conditions in his favour 3.10 Leicester

Unify is forecast to go off favourite for this and she might have a class edge over her rivals given she is conceding upwards of 16lb.

She’s also the youngest and least exposed in the race so has enough going for her, but the ground at Leicester is firm and that’s a bit of an unknown.

You can’t say she won’t act on it because she has only tried good to firm once, but she was slightly below par last time and might find this track stiff enough, so preference is for Larkhall.

Mike Sowersby’s nine-year-old is no great shakes, but his mark reflects that and he does seem to have a marked preference for proper fast ground, which is a rarity over jumps.

A point winner on good to firm, the last time he raced on a surface faster than good under rules was a year ago over course and distance and he won a handicap off a mark of 75.

He has run well at a low level a few times since, most notably when third of 14 at Cartmel in June and, while he ran poorly in September, he’d had a busy summer and was much better following a break at the end of last month when fourth to Jackthejourneyman at Huntingdon.

That race was over 2m½f and he’s better suited by today’s longer distance.

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