HARROVIAN has been handed a simple chance to get back on the winning trail in Wetherby's Racecourse Showground Novices Chase.

Having twice hit the target earlier in the year, Harrovian was a warm favourite to win a valuable handicap chase at Kelso in February. But Pam Robson's highly-rated gelding couldn't raise his game, failing to cope with some far more experienced and battle-hardened campaigners.

Now back in ordinary novices company, Harrovian (3.10) has a straightforward task at the weights and should make no mistake in the £8,000 race over three-miles-and-one-furlong.

Beamish Prince (2.00) boasts a solid record at the track and will have a loyal band of supporters in the Conference Centre Novices Hurdle.

George Moore's genuine and consistent gelding carries a 7lb penalty for his previous track and trip victory, but the extra weight is matched to the pound by conditional rider Doug Costello's allowance, making Beamish Prince's work a shade less demanding.

Bereft of numbers but certainly not quality, the wetherbyracing.co.uk Handicap Chase is an absolute corker, despite only six runners going to post.

Top-weight Deep Water will be firing full blast on his favoured soft ground, while the front-running, bold jumping, Flight Command is sure to set a searching gallop throughout.

Although both are useful customers and to be treated with the utmost respect, neither may be capable of preventing the bang-in-form King Of The Arctic (4.55) completing his hat-trick.

John Wade's gelding stuck his head out for dear life to stave off the persistent challenge of Burwood Breeze when the pair clashed over course and distance in mid-January, a performance which generated many admirers concerning the way he went about his business.

Kim Bailey, he of former glory days with the likes of Gold Cup hero Master Oats, and Champion Hurdle conqueror Alderbrook, struggles to even have a runner at Cheltenham these days, such is his lack of firepower.

Bailey's much-reduced team are more often than not found at venues such as Folkestone, where Putup Or Shutup (2.15) is fancied to defy a 776-day absence by winning the Lookout Restaurant Handicap Hurdle.

Prior to being struck down with a long-term injury, Putup Or Shutup had looked an extremely promising prospect by finishing runner-up at Ascot, before earning a hard-fought success at Ludlow.

Nearly three years have slipped by since those heady days, but connections wouldn't have persevered unless they thought their charge could make a comeback and in this case there's no time like the present to test out the theory.

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