Weather looking bright at Exeter
Ask The Weatherman should provide the answer to the Did Ucheck The Odds? Handicap Chase at Exeter.
The three-mile feature looks perfect for Jack Barber's 10-year-old, so adept at producing his very best form first time out and especially at home on this course.
The prolific point-to-point and hunter-chase winner stated the case late last year by making his only hurdles start to date a winning one at Exeter.
As so often, heavy ground played to Ask The Weatherman's strengths too, as he ground out victory from the front despite looking highly vulnerable for much of the race.
His form subsequently receded, in just two further runs over the fences, as it did in the previous campaign when an opening Exeter win then sent him off quietly-fancied for the Welsh Grand National.
He pulled up at Chepstow, though, and fared no better at Kempton and Taunton in the spring.
Ask The Weatherman must be caught fresh these days, and has won after an extended break four times in succession.
He has prevailed from higher marks too, and should be granted his favoured conditions again to make the most of what appears to be a hand-picked opportunity.
Jeremy Scott resisted the temptation to run Two Sams under a penalty after the sixyear-old proved a revelation on stable debut - and he has therefore had a near threeweek breather before the Racing TV Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle.
Two Sams has incurred just a 5lb rise for his Plumpton romp, and the suspicion is it will take a fair bit more than that to stop him winning again in this lowly grade.
Earlier on the card Danny Whizzbang looks promising in the 100% RacingTV Profits Back To Racing Novices' Chase.
The lightly-raced six-yearold has an Irish point-to-point win on his CV, and followed up with successive hurdles victories on his only two attempts last season - most recently at this course - and is sure to know his job for Paul Nicholls.
At Uttoxeter, Idee De
Garde has plenty going for him in the opening Barbara Peacock Memorial Handicap Hurdle.
Another with few miles on the clock for his age, Dan Skelton's six-year-old was making only his fourth appearance when he began the campaign with a head second over course and distance at the start of this month.