Seventh at the festival last time but does that make Pougne Bobbi a good thing?

4.10 Kelso

Buy New Timeform Horses To Follow Handicap Chase | 2m6½f, 5yo+ | RTV

If a horse finished seventh in a hot Cheltenham Festival handicap last time out, he would look a good bet for a five-runner 0-140 event at Kelso – but what if that festival was two years ago?

That is the dilemma facing punters debating whether or not to back Pougne Bobbi, who ran a creditable race behind The Storyteller in the Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Stable Plate Handicap Chase in 2018.

The behind-closed-doors atmosphere at Kelso will be decidedly different from that last outing in front of 70,000-odd racegoers at Cheltenham, but that run was no flash in the pan as he had previously won in good style off of this mark in a race at Huntingdon that worked out well.

But he was sold out of Nicky Henderson's yard at the end of that season, moving initially to Donald McCain and then Keith Dalgleish, and his current effectiveness can only be guessed at.

That said, the fact he is being considered for the Grand National meeting and that his new, shrewd trainer is not renowned for tilting at windmills with horses that are past it suggests a bold show is likely.

And there is plenty of guesswork when it comes to assessing how well his rivals may run.

Pain Au Chocolat is on the comeback trail after a wind operation and Ascot De Bruyere has disappointed since his reappearance, while the novice Crixus's Escape hung left when second at Catterick and may well have been flattered by his proximity to a 1-5 winner.

Dual course winner Cultram Abbey is usually a solid proposition round here but he is now 13 and has never won off a mark this high.

All of which is to suggest that, with early shows putting him in third favourite at as big a price as 5-1, Pougne Bobbi may actually be the percentage call, 732-day break or not.
Race analysis by David Carr

What they say

Rebecca Menzies, trainer of Pain Au Chocolat
He had a trapped epiglottis so he had quite a complex wind operation after his last run. He's just coming back to himself now, the trip on testing ground will stretch him but I'm hoping for a more positive run.

Pain Au Chocolat: has had a wind operationCredit: Grossick Racing (racingpost.com/photos)

Craig Nichol, rider of Pougne Bobbi
He's an interesting horse and we're hoping to take him to Aintree, depending on the coronavirus situation. He ran a massive race on his last run in a Grade 3 at Cheltenham when he was with Nicky Henderson. He's been on the sidelines from time to time and not had a lot of racing since 2017, but Keith seems to think he's in a good place and he seems to like him.

Nicky Richards, trainer of Cultram Abbey
He's a grand horse. The race has cut up a bit and he's in great order. He's won round there and should put up a bold show.

James Ewart, trainer of Ascot de Bruyere
He hasn't built on his good first run at Wetherby but he's got Brian Hughes back in the saddle and that's a huge positive because he's not the easiest ride and Brian rode him when he ran well at Wetherby. He'll handle the ground, he's got a reasonable weight and he'll handle the track so in theory he ought to run well.

You can now place bets withBetfair without leaving the free Racing Post app. Download or update to the latest app atracingpost.com/mobile to get started