SO-CALLED "good things" in handicaps have a nasty habit of getting turned over, but it's hard to see why Royal Beluga (2.20) shouldn't justify an anticipated avalanche of cash in the Moore Scott Chase at Ludlow.
Ridden with sublime confidence by Davy Russell over course and distance last time out, Royal Beluga came sauntering though the pack to crush his rivals with a burst of acceleration from the second-last fence.
And it was not only turbo-charged finishing speed that was so impressive about Tom George's young chaser because he also jumped like a cat, pinging virtually every fence without his jockey having to move a muscle.
Royal Beluga has a very promising future over the bigger obstacles and should not be opposed lightly in the £10,000 two-and-a-half-mile event.
Mick FitzGerald, who could have gone to Ludlow to partner his boss Nicky Henderson's Native Approach (3.20), has instead opted to travel to Taunton, where he has a lorry load of fancied rides including Cimarrone Cove (2.10) in the £12,000 Showcase Handicap.
The three-mile-three-furlong contest is the sort of slog relished by the eight-year-old, who stayed on strongly when recently chasing home Sandown specialist Kings Mistral.
FitzGerald might also be on the mark with Cybele Eria (3.10) in the Orchard Handicap Hurdle, plus the newcomer, Amorella (4.10), a leading contender for the closing National Hunt Bumper race.
Cybele Eria should go off at double-digit odds after seemingly running poorly on her last two runs. But delve a little deeper and you'll discover a couple of costly last-flight blunders have had a major impact on her ultimate finishing position.
Given more fluent hurdling, Mick's mount could easily surprise some more highly-touted market rivals, an astonishing ten of whom all hail from Martin Pipe's stable.
With so many Pipe horses in the race, the field will hopefully play right into Cybele Eria hands, who is at her best when being produced for a late charge.
Amorello's race appears to be a pretty hot heat for such a low-grade track, but the vibes from Henderson's Seven Barrows' stable in Lambourn have been fairly positive for the five-year-old mare.
The management at Southwell will be extremely pleased at the quality turn-out for their feature event on a busy eight-race card, the £15,000 Littlewoods Handicap over seven furlongs.
Both Karl Burke and David Nicholls launch double-pronged attacks, although neither handler may have the right sort of ammunition to peg back the Willie Haggas-trained raider, Hand Chime (1.30). Joe Fanning will probably drop him in just behind the pace, pouncing once the winning post comes into view.
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