Carlisle Placepot: Sunday November 4

Donald McCain: Trainer of Ifyousayso.

Timeform's Matt Gardner heads to Carlisle for Sunday's Placepot...

13:00 - This looks set to be fought out between Rupert Bear, Fine Kingdom and Heart O' The West but, with two places currently on offer, we will discount the last mentioned on account of his lengthy absence and rest in the knowledge that, even if he does go well, we are almost certain to take the remaining place with one of our pair.

13:30 - See What Happens made plenty of appeal here, but with him being a non-runner we will side with King's Grace and Vintage Star. The former looked a useful prospect when winning at Bangor late last year and makes his chasing debut here, whilst Vintage Star, who is another chasing debutant, is bred to excel in this sphere and is worth including on his return.

14:05 - Five remain at this stage but even if there were another absentee, leaving us needing the winner, we are still safe in banking upon Ifyousayso. The five-year-old was a dual bumper winner and ran well in a Grade 2 at Aintree last season; he looks to have been found a fairly straightforward test and should have no problems in getting off the mark over hurdles.

14:40 - Difficult to rule out any of these so the safest bet is to stick all four in and move swiftly on.

15:10 - African Broadway has been fairly lightly-raced but has built up a good strike rate, having entered the winners' enclosure on 50% of the occasions he has taken to the track, and, having made a decent enough chase debut when winning at Wetherby last month, his is the first name on out ticket here. It's also worth including Etxalar, who won this last year and will race from a 7 lb lower mark today. Conditions will pose few problems for the nine-year-old, and he ought to go well.

15:45 - The excesses of leg four means that we could do with saving some lines here, and there is a banker available in the shape of Some Lad. The seven-year-old put up his best effort under rules when finishing second at Kelso a fortnight ago, travelling well for the majority of the race, and he ought to be able to make the first three.

Selections:
13:00 - 2, 3
13:30 - 6, 10
14:05 - 4
14:40 - 1, 2, 3, 4
15:10 - 3, 10
15:45 - 5
= 32 lines

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