A little chase experience goes a long way in novice handicaps

Lots of novice-only handicap chases take place in Britain at this time of year and, as well as these races being restricted to novices, a rule that distinguishes them from standard handicap chases is that a horse can make its chasing debut in such races, which are a Class 3 or below, off their hurdles mark.

Without this contentious rule, novice chasers with no more than an average level of ability would inevitably end up taking on vastly superior horses in races they had no realistic chance of winning unless the fancied horses failed to negotiate the fences.

But there are those who argue it potentially favours chasing types having their first run over fences, particularly pointing graduates who have some experience of jumping obstacles bigger than regulation flights of hurdles.