'Ramo looks the one to beat' - can local trainers keep the Plumpton prize close to home?

Venetia Williams is not the type of trainer who would worry too much about ground conditions, but I reckon she is hoping there is plenty of rain at Plumpton.

Like many of the trainer's horses, Ramo seems to have taken his form to a totally different level since upped in trip on soft ground and he couldn't have been more impressive when winning at Newton Abbot last time.

The problem for his supporters is not only that it's anyone's guess what the ground will actually be like come off time, but he's also up 10lb for that win and doesn't have 7lb claimer Ned Fox on board this time.

Having said that, he's still a six-year-old and has run only six times in Britain, so I doubt very much if he has reached the limit of his potential, or that he won't be capable of winning off higher marks than 115.

The local trainers will be hoping to keep the valuable prize in Sussex, but there are big question marks about the horses trained by Richard Rowe, Gary Moore and Lydia Richards and the biggest threat to Ramo could well come from the consistent Sporting Ace.

Neil King has an excellent record at Plumpton and Sporting Ace is yet to finish out of the frame in eight hurdles starts. He has won just one of them, though, which suggests the handicapper has his measure, but Sporting Ace has bumped into a few improvers and I'm not sure we've seen the best of him yet.
Race analysis by Tom Segal

What they say

Richard Rowe, trainer of Up The Straight
We’ve done some work on him since he last ran when he was let down by his jumping over the first five hurdles. We expect an improved performance, but we just hope the rain stays away.

Tom Lacey, trainer of Yes No Maybe So
The handicapper would appear to have a grip of him just now but if the ground dries out he'd have a chance. Ramo looks the one to beat on what we saw at Newton Abbot last time.

Jack Quinlan, rider of Sporting Ace
You'd struggle to find a more consistent horse and he seems to run well on any track and on any ground. He deserves to win a race and this looks a decent opportunity.

Neil Mulholland, trainer of Crossing The Bar
He won well there the time before last so we know he’ll enjoy the track.

Milton Harris, trainer of Hasty Parisian
All the family are winners but they can be a bit quirky. They are all ultra-competitive, however, and he ran well in a better race than this at Ascot last time. I’ll be disappointed if he’s not bang there.

Gary Moore, trainer of Heaven Smart
He’s run well around there before and has a nice chance, but we wouldn’t want the ground to dry out too much. If firm is anywhere in the going description he won’t run.

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