All her recent form is at this grade and trip, so she's proven at the level, but the pattern is wildly up and down — a 67-rated win two runs back sandwiched by very ordinary efforts, and she was 4th last time out. One win from ten course and distance attempts tells the story: she's capable of a peak run but you never know which Alisha turns up. Ran nearly half a second slower than her best last time, which is a worry.

The fastest dog in the field on the clock, but there's a big catch — he has exactly one open race to his name, a promising second here earlier this month, with everything before that coming in trials. One run tells you very little, and dogs with trial-heavy backgrounds often race green in a pack. He's slow away and relies entirely on a strong late run, which at least suits Newcastle's long straight. Interesting, but unproven.

The early-pace king of this race — sharpest from the boxes and the best first-bend numbers in the field, drawn in trap 5 which has been the best box at this course. He'll almost certainly lead. The problem is what happens next: he shows sharp early speed but can weaken in the closing stages, and Newcastle's long run home is exactly where that catches dogs out. Two wins and six places from ten course and distance runs says he's always thereabouts but hard to win with. All recent form is at this grade.

Honest and consistent — a win and four placed efforts in his last six, including a solid second at this grade last time out, and his recent form has come from A7 grade and below before this step up. The snag is the draw: trap 6 is comfortably the worst box at this grade and trip, winning under 15% of the time. He has enough early pace to hold a position but he'll need to work harder than most from out wide.