Sizing Cusimano secures the verdict in a colourful finish

Although this was a fairly low-key Tuesday mid-December card at Uttoxeter, the thunderous finish to the 2m7½f handicap hurdle could have taken place at any big meeting as the Ann and Alan Potts Limited-owned Sizing Cusimano, well backed near the off, reeled in Volcano in the Walters Plant Hire silks.

The winner had flopped a couple of times at Cheltenham in the autumn but, stepped up nearly a mile in trip from his previous run, he relished the test and overcame a mistake at the last to prevail.

A strapping son of Midnight Legend, he would almost certainly have been bought for fences by his late owner and looks a promising type for chasing. The runner-up, 13 lengths clear of the rest, is unlucky to remain a maiden over hurdles and should put that right soon.