'There won't be a lot between them' - Williams eyes Perth's feature prize

Keep Your Social Distance Handicap Chase | 2m4f, 4yo+ | RTV

Caius Marcius bumped into one of the more progressive handicappers seen out this summer when he was beaten by Highly Prized at Southwell in July and that looks a strong piece of two-mile hurdles form. The problem is this is a chase over two and a half, so can he adapt?

The return to fences shouldn’t be a problem. Caius Marcius has recorded four wins and four seconds from just nine chase starts and is rated a 5lb better chaser than hurdler by the BHA.

The distance is another question altogether. Caius Marcius has run only twice over this far, both at Aintree, and he was well beaten on both occasions. It’s anyone's guess as to whether he will stay.

A couple of years have passed since his last attempt at the trip and it’s possible he might have strengthened up in the meantime, but he still needs to prove that is the case.

Caius Marcius: is a three-time course winnerCredit: John Grossick

Tonto's Spirit is another whose best form has come over shorter and that provides a conundrum for punters regarding the possible pace for this race. Usually a confirmed front-runner, it’s hard to be sure whether Tonto’s Spirit will attack this race in his normal manner given he needs to prove he is fully effective at this longer distance.

Paul Nicholls has a 35 per cent strike-rate at this track and Oleg is his representative. It has been the Nicholls show recently, with the 11-time champion trainer enjoying a purple patch, and the fact he sends Oleg more than 400 miles from Ditcheat to Perth for this is probably a tip in itself.

Race analysis by Graeme Rodway

What they say

Nicky Richards, trainer of Caius Marcius
He's produced two really solid efforts since the resumption but races have been limited for him, so he's more or less ran in what was there and it's the same sort of thing here. He's in good order and we thought we'd try him over two and a half miles as he's been staying on well in his races. The handicapper knows exactly where he is at, but he'll run another good, solid race in this.

Ian Williams, trainer of Royal Village and Solar Impulse
Royal Village will have improved for his first run back last time and will enjoy the decent ground and trip, while Solar Impulse won well last time. He's up a few pounds and this is tougher, but he always runs his race. There wouldn't be a lot between them.

Ewan Whillans, assistant to Alistair Whillans, trainer of Cracking Destiny
He's in good fettle at home. He had top weight when second at the course last time and it was soft ground, and he's a good-ground horse. I think the trip, track and ground will be ideal and he's at an all-time high weight-wise, but I still think it's a nice weight and he's definitely got a chance.

Oleg: carries the familiar blue silks of Middleham Park RacingCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Sandy Thomson, trainer of Get Out The Gate
He's settled into the yard grand and we're happy enough with him but he bled last time, which is a slight concern, and this is a bit of a fact-finding mission.

Tom Palin, bloodstock and National Hunt manager of Middleham Park Racing, co-owners of Oleg
It's his first jumps run since a wind op and him bursting a blood vessel, but he's had a lot of schooling and Paul [Nicholls, trainer] couldn't be happier with him. He's probably as happy with him as he's been all summer, so we're hopeful of a very good run off a nice, sensible weight. We identified this race a fair while back and it's a good race for the time of year, but I'm hoping our Flat campaign can give us an advantage, while I don't think this step up in trip over jumps should be an issue.

Reporting by James Burn

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