With the ground drying out at Carlisle, Pookie Pekan looks to have his conditions today and is well handicapped to take advantage in the 2m4f handicap chase (4.33pm).

He finished fourth over 3m at the track on his reappearance in Octovber off a 12lbs higher mark, looking the likely winner for much of the race but failing to see out the trip.  Though he has won on soft, I think he wants good to soft to be at his best, and conditions were certainly against him when pulling up in a 3m2f, soft-ground class 2 at Haydock on his next outing!  His next three runs have come on heavy ground, the last two of them over an inadequate 2m (all four wins have come between 2m3.5f and 2m5.5f).

He won well here in March 2019 off just 2lbs lower on good to soft ground and scored again over this CD in November 2019 off a 6lbs higher mark than today’s.

A six-week break since his latest outing should see him spot on for today and the yard form offers further encouragement, with Stuart Coltherd’s last nine runners reading 122351234.

1pt win @ 8-1 (William Hill, Paddy Power, Betfair)