MARY REVELEY has produced a whole host of highly-rated hurdlers over the past decade and Overstrand appears to be another right out of the top drawer for the Lingdale-based handler.
Following a narrow success in maiden hurdle at Perth much earlier on this year, Overstrand showed the benefit of a long summer break by slamming a decent field on his reappearance at Market Rasen last week
Clearly wanting to get on with the job in hand, Mary has wasted little time in sending her talented four-year-old back to the well for the Builder Center Novices Hurdle at Carlisle today.
Recent heavy rain has eased ground conditions so Overstrand (12.15) now has more on his plate by virtue of much stronger opposition, nonetheless he's a very progressive young gelding, fully expected to defy his double penalty in spectacular style.
The late Gordon Richards, whose runners dominated at his local track during the eighties and nineties, would have been chuffed to bits at the magnificent turn out for the race run in his memory at 1.20.
One of Gordon's biggest fans, Lenny Lungo, has decided the time is right to unleash one of his big guns, Brooklyn Breeze, sure to be popular with punters following some bullish pre-race hype from Lenny.
Brooklyn Breeze didn't put a foot wrong in four starts last season and having reportedly schooled brilliantly at home in preparation for his chase debut, anything other than a clear-cut victory on this inaugural try over fences in public would be a major setback for Lungo's camp.
At the heart of what is an excellent card, the three-mile £12,000 Ashleybank Investments Chase has attracted a whole array of cracking staying chasers.
That battle-hardened bruiser, Ferdy Murphy's Man On The Hill, makes a welcome comeback, although the combination of top-weight plus a long absence could well scupper his prospects.
Should this turn out be the case, it may well let in Jonjo O'Neill's Kemal's Council 2.25), who has stamina in abundance and, having prevailed on his first two starts last term, patently goes well when fresh.
In the later Raceclub Handicap Hurdle, Stamparland Hill (3.00) is fancied to bounce back to form.
Sadly his 2002/2003 campaign was virtually a total write-off since he only made the track three times in all.
But there is plenty of life left in Malcolm Jefferson's eight-year-old and on his day he is a very classy cookie indeed.
From a betting point of view, Uttoxeter is a course to be very wary of on account of the tricky undulations, which can so easily wrong-foot even the safest of jumpers.
The hurdles track is somewhat less of a problem and therefore a minor investment on Ginner Morris (2.00) may prove profitable. James Hetherton's horses are going well at present and Ginner Morris is certainly an individual to keep in mind, having performed with credit at selling level over the sticks in the past.
* Jonjo O'Neill's Joss Naylor was been well backed yesterday for tomorrow's Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Newbury. Ladbrokes make the Jackdaws Castle inmate 9-1 for the feature race from 12-1, while Coral go 8-1 from 14s. The eight-year-old has not run since unplaced in the William Hill National Hunt Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
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