The fastest dog in the race — his 29.00 last time out is the quickest clocking in this field and Michael Malone's runners have been winning at an outstanding 40%. But the caveats stack up: that 29.00 came in an A5 defeat where he was turned over at cramped odds of 2/7, tonight is a two-grade jump to company he has never faced, and he's drawn in trap 1, which wins barely one in nine A2 races here. Blistering speed, wrong box, big class question.

Three wins in his last nine and second at A3 latest — a dog in genuinely good heart stepping up from a productive spell at A3 and A4 level. He's proven over this course and distance with a win and two places from four tries, and his last run was within a whisker of his best time. Trap 2 is a below-average box at this grade and he's a couple of lengths shy of the fastest here, but he's the sort who outruns his numbers when the race gets rough.

Second at A3 last time and has been mixing it at A2 and A3 all year without winning — seven visible starts, no victories, though rarely far away. He's up half a second on his last run compared to his best and has never won in three course and distance tries. Trap 3 is a fair box at this grade and he'll be thereabouts, but on a card where the top two have stronger claims he looks one for the places again.

An interesting puzzle — his last two starts were sprints at S2, rated 86 and 73, and he was a short-priced favourite both times, so connections clearly hold him in regard. His 525m record here is solid too: a win and two places from three course and distance runs in the spring. But he hasn't raced beyond 325m since April, and the question is whether the stamina is still tuned for two extra bends. Trap 6 is a decent box at this grade; the fitness-at-trip question keeps him at outsider odds.