'You wouldn't want to back against him' - course specialists clash at Cartmel

Monday: 3.24 Cartmel
Molson Coors Cavendish Cup Handicap Chase | 3m1½f | 4yo+ | RTV

Dressedforsuccess, who races almost exclusively at Cartmel, won this race 12 months ago off an 8lb lower mark.

However, he faced only three rivals that day, one of whom fell, and this is an undeniably far stronger renewal.

The Jimmy Moffatt-trained nine-year-old was well beaten on his penultimate start behind Dr Sanderson, a performance which suggests he is too high in the weights now.

It’s also possible the handicapper has caught up with The Vollan, winner of three staying chases for Laura Morgan at Southwell this summer and now 20lb higher.

Perhaps crucially, The Vollan also lacks the Cartmel experience that four of his six rivals possess.

Charlotte Jones (left): rides Rapid FlightCredit: David Carr

Rapid Flight, winner of four of his five starts at Cartmel this summer, was sent off 1-3 favourite when beating All About Joe in a match last month.

He is only 2lb worse off with that runner this time and should again come out on top, with further improvement by no means ruled out.

The Irish raider Streets Of Doyen is entitled to respect, but he finished over 17 lengths behind Jerrysback when fourth in the Listed Summer Cup at Uttoxeter in June.

Jerrysback, skilfully brought back to his best by Ben Haslam, also won his previous start — which came over a longer trip at Cartmel — and, although now 10lb higher than at Uttoxeter, could have sufficient class to defy that new mark under 12st.

Race analysis by Richard Birch

What they say

Ben Haslam, trainer of Jerrysback
I'm rather hoping we get the rain which is forecast. He's a winter horse and we've got some targets later on in the season for him so we may need to rethink if he runs. All being well we hope he does, he's a high-class horse with course form so we'd be expecting another big run.

John McConnell, trainer of Streets Of Doyen
It's a good pot with a fairly small field so it's worth having a go. He ran well over hurdles last time. An 11lb swing with Jerrysback from their last meeting should help, but we'll have to see how he gets on around Cartmel for the first time. If he takes to it and comes alive then hopefully he'll run a good race, but you never really know how a horse will handle that track until you try. We're hoping for a good result.

Jimmy Moffatt, trainer of Rapid Flight and Dressedforsuccess
It's amazing how much Rapid Flight has kept improving through the summer. He's in good order and you wouldn't want to back against him. Dressedforsuccess won on his last run in his conditions. He was over too short on soft ground and then he did a silly jink over hurdles. He's really well and I'm really looking forward to seeing Sam [Twiston-Davies] ride him. They're two nice chances, I couldn't separate them.

Reporting by James Stevens

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