Can The Kemble Brewery bounce back to his best following wind surgery and a summer break?

The Kemble Brewery will garner all the headlines here because he could be a class apart off top weight. He won four of his first five races and looked like he may go right to the highest grade at this time last year, but is on a bit of a retrieval mission after two subsequent defeats.

He was turned over when 4-11 favourite at Ludlow in December and took another step backwards when returning from 80 days off to be pulled up in a first-time tongue-tie at Sandown in March. That was in a significantly stronger type of race than this one, though.

The Kemble Brewery is back from another 242 days off, but has this time had wind surgery since his last run and sneaks into this 0-130 from a BHA mark of 129, right near the ceiling.

The Kim Bailey and Mat Nicholls yard has four winners from 15 runners in the past fortnight, for a 27 per cent strike-rate, and Bailey is 18 per cent during his own tenure as trainer and, when combined with Nicholls, with runners after wind surgery. That's evidently a positive.

It could be a one-horse race if The Kemble Brewery is back to his best. It’s wide open if he doesn’t and Ben Solo is among the big dangers, with Sean Bowen up for Rebecca Curtis.

Bowen has ridden Ben Solo only once and the pair were well beaten then, but his presence is clearly a plus even if Ben Solo’s regular rider, Ben Jones, is on board Roysse instead. Jones has ridden Roysse on all bar one of his starts and sticks with his main supporter Ben Pauling.
Analysis by Graeme Rodway

Going news

The going was described as good, good to firm in places on the chase course on Tuesday, with thundery showers forecast overnight followed by light rain on raceday.

What They Say 

Tom Bellamy, rider of The Kemble Brewery
It would be his chase debut, but I’ve given him a good few pops over fences at home and he goes well. There are no secrets about him. We're very much looking forward to the race but we may need some overnight rain if he's to take his chance.

Ben Pauling, trainer of Roysse
He has a load of ability but often pulls too hard, so hopefully the switch to fences should play to his strengths. He’s ahead of his handicap mark and could run a big race if they get a bit of overnight rain.

Tom Lacey, trainer of My Friend Sean
He didn’t jump with much fluency on his debut over fences at Uttoxeter and needs to sharpen up his act. He won’t mind if it doesn’t rain as he likes top of the ground.

Sam Thomas, trainer of Palacio
He’s best fresh and we expect him to run a big race. He has his own way of doing things and he likes to get on with it. He’s a big horse and hopefully going over these fences for the first time will give him something to think about.

Tom Symonds, trainer of The Winslow Boy
His family are so much better over fences, so we're looking forward to his first go over them and he's schooled well at home. He’s had a wind op as his campaign fizzled out last season. We're starting him over a trip short of his optimum but it's a stiff track.

Evan Williams, trainer of Boyles Hill
This looks the right place to start off and he’s a nice horse to go chasing with. It looks a competitive race but he won’t mind the ground.

Joe Tizzard, trainer of Star Of Affinity
It’s his first run over fences, but he's schooled super at home and we don’t expect the drop back to two miles to inconvenience him. We're expecting a big run. The bit of rain they say is coming will help
Reporting by David Milnes

Three things to note on Wednesday

By Maddy Playle

1) Appleby’s Abashiri makes appeal

Kempton novices tend to be about Godolphin newcomers these days, with Notable Speech the most high-profile graduate in recent years. Perhaps there'll be another in a competitive-looking fillies’ maiden (2.50), as Abashiri – trained by Charlie Appleby – has plenty to recommend her on paper. By the exceptional Frankel, she's out of the ultra-talented Group 1 winner Sobetsu, making her a sister to the Group 2 winner English Rose. If she can emulate what stablemate Talk Of New York achieved at the track a few weeks ago then she won’t be going far wrong, as that colt is a 25-1 shot for the 2,000 Guineas in May.

2) Another Nicholls star?

The Paul Nicholls-trained Gillespie received a positive mention in the trainer’s recent stable tour, so it'll be interesting to see what he can do on his second start for the yard in the opening 2m3½f maiden hurdle (12.30) at Chepstow. The winner of a Ffos Las bumper last December, he’s already had two wind surgeries by the age of five, but has the pedigree to go far as a brother to The Big Breakaway and Say Goodbye, and a half-brother to Kildisart. All three reached a high level and this horse is clearly showing up well on the gallops at Ditcheat.

3) Harker's hat-trick seeker

The Geoffrey Harker-trained Mudamer goes in search of a third consecutive win in the feature 7f handicap (3.28) at Musselburgh. The six-year-old has impressed with comfortable wins at Catterick over this trip the last twice, with his most recent two-length success not far off a career-best effort on Racing Post Ratings and receiving the comment, 'unchallenged'. The former Shadwell-owned gelding reached a peak of 90 when in Ireland in his younger days and is getting ever closer to that level now, so something must have clicked recently.

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