Can the JP McManus-owned Fortunate Man defy a career-high mark in Carlisle's feature handicap chase?

Punters can approach the fact that likely favourite Fortunate Man competes off a career-high mark of 126 in one of two ways.

The positive view is that he’s a bang-in-form progressive chaser who boasts strong course-and-distance form and remains open to further improvement following just four starts over fences.

The negative view is that he held every chance in first-time cheekpieces at Windsor last time when rated 1lb lower yet was brushed aside by the fully exposed Planned Paradise from the second-last. You couldn’t say he ran out of stamina over that 3m4½f trip.

Jonjo and AJ O’Neill have won with five of their 22 runners at Carlisle this season, and Fortunate Man’s second to O’Connell at the track in December has worked out very well.

Raceview Road is interesting in first-time cheekpieces now he drops back to a conventional stayers’ trip after seeming to lack the stamina for 4m½f in the Borders National at Kelso.

He started 5-2 favourite that day, perhaps partly due to the fact his dam is a half-sister to Seven Towers, who landed the Kelso feature in 1997.

Raceview Road has been given 71 days to recover from those exertions and gets in off a low weight.

His course-and-distance second to Boomslang in November has since been well advertised by that winner, who now lodges off a 14lb higher mark.

Last-time-out scorers Geryville and Tanganyika may now be in the handicapper’s grip, but Not Sure has slipped to an attractive mark.
Race analysis by Richard Birch

Going update

The going on the chase course is good to soft, soft in places with dry and overcast conditions forecast on Sunday night and on Monday.

What they say

Olly Murphy, trainer of The Wolf
He's gone up the handicap and won well on his last two starts. He faces stiffer competition, but on his best form he'd have an each-way chance.

Tristan Davidson, trainer of Lieutenant Command
We're good friends with Tim Reed [Lieutenant Command's former trainer], so that's the only reason we've got him. We've given him a couple of bits of work and he feels like a classy horse. It's a competitive race, but he's run well at Carlisle before – he was second there on his penultimate start, when I was quite impressed with him.

Tristan Davidson: trainer runs stable debutant Lieutenant CommandCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

George Bewley, trainer of Raceview Road
We've put cheekpieces on just to sharpen up his jumping as we thought he was giving his fences a bit too much respect. He's a novice and is still learning, and it was probably a mistake to run him in the Borders National – it was maybe a year too soon. He ran well enough, and marathon races will be the aim in another year or two. The trip here should suit.
Reporting by Charlie Huggins

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