'He likes being fresh and seems in great form at home' - dependable Dunum heads big field in lucrative premier handicap

Chazzesmee's audacious attempt at a Lincoln double came up a little short in March. Five days after landing the Irish one over this course and distance, he hit a low of 6-4 in running on the Betfair Exchange at Doncaster but could manage only fifth behind Mr Professor. He was found to be lame afterwards.

Fozzy Stack's unexposed six-year-old has been given plenty of time to recover – 62 days – but he has a career-high mark of 100 to defy and needs the rain to start getting into the ground. That said, he was second to Blues Emperor in a premier handicap here last year on good ground.

Blues Emperor is one of three Johnny Murtagh representatives and the best of that bunch could be last year's winner Rahmi. He is 6lb higher now but caught the eye at Cork a fortnight ago and looks to have had this race as his early-season target.

The weights are headed by the delightful Dunum. He has been some money-spinner for Natalia Lupini and boasts some big runs over the Curragh mile. He went down by a short head to Rahmi in this race last year after being hammered into 4-1 favourite but that was off a mark of 93 and he's now up to 103.

Dunum has won first time out for the last two years since joining Lupini, so we know he goes well fresh, but those wins came off marks of 58 and 82. This is a much trickier task but you wouldn't be surprised if he came up with the right answer. He so often does.

Karsavina, winner of a Newmarket novice over 7f on her debut for Clive Cox in 2022, was bought for 110,000gns and now makes her stable debut for Joseph O'Brien. She was considered good enough to run in last year's 1,000 Guineas when rated 100 and could have plenty of upside off a mark of 90 here if ready to rock after 258 days off.

Just a note on Casanova. He has run some big races over a mile at the Curragh but is 0-15 at the venue.

The first two home last year were drawn 16 and 17, while Celtic Crown won from 25 in 2022. It is usually beneficial to be drawn high.

What they say

Natalia Lupini, trainer of Dunum
He has top weight, but he's a big, strong horse and should have no problem carrying it. He likes being fresh and always seems to go well first time out. He seems in great form at home and we're looking forward to getting him out and getting his season started.

Fozzy Stack, trainer of Chazzesmee
He's in good shape. We gave him a break after his run in the Lincoln at Doncaster as he had two quick races back to back. He was a bit sore behind afterwards but he's fine now. He's run well at the Curragh on fast ground and I don't think it will be an issue for him.

Joseph O'Brien, trainer of Karsavina
She's having her first run for us and I'm happy with what I'm seeing from her at home. We're hoping for a nice run and looking forward to getting her started.

Looking for free bets? Racing Post have got the best offers, all in one place. Visit racingpost.com/freebets to find out more.