NH Chase - Mr Vango 33/1 NRNB - this won the race in which Sidi Ismael ran recently so I ended up watching it, thought afterwards that I should check how the handicapper reacted and keep an eye out for it. Then, of course, it completely slipped my mind. Until last night when I ran off the five-day cards and noticed it in this race. The RP card last night has it on its old OR (120) but it went up to 132 for the win. I think that new OR is extremely conservative. It's maybe worth watching that race again. Yes, it was a very modest event for very modest horses over not far off four miles in an absolute bog but Mr Vango went out in front and just ent further and further clear. The ones that tried to go with it folded early and the runner-up, which struggled to go the early pace, was the one to come through eventually for second place. That was probably as close as it ever could have got. I reckon it probably wasn't too far off , if off at all, its OR. Taking that positive spin, the winner has beaten its OR by 60 lengths. That's about 30lbs at the trip in the conditions. And it won without coming off the bit. To me, it's entirely possible it ran to about 150 that day. To be honest, I'd have thought an entry in the Kim Muir would have been interesting enough but this is its only entry and it will attract a bit of money once the ITV team roll out the Bradstock gushbucket. I don't think it's as far behind the rest of the field as the odds imply and it is totally bombproof in terms of stamina requirements.
