Jody Townend comes in for the ride on Tony Mullins’ 7-year-old and she is excellent value for her 5lb claim in this contest. A son of Sholokhov, he comes from the family of Rebel Yeats and Commanche Court and so it was no surprise to see him find significant improvement when he stepped up to 3-miles for the first time at Wexford last time. He was badly hampered at the 2nd last and did well to recover the lost ground under Danny Mullins to win by half-a-length. The 3rd has run well since in a Handicap at Tramore last week to give that form a boost. The handicapper has reacted by giving his a 6lb rise for that first success, but with Jody Townend’s claim, he is effectively only 1lb higher and as a result looks to have got in on a lenient mark. He is unexposed as a stayer, which doesn’t apply to too many in this field and he will surely prove to be much better than this mark in time.
