Diocles set to follow up
The six-year-old made a most encouraging start to his racing career, when bolting up by eight lengths in an all-weather bumper at Southwell in December 2010, but then spent 11 months out of action.
He was expected to strike again on his belated reappearance at Haydock, but his winner’s penalty proved too much and he had to make do with third.
There was plenty of promise in his hurdling debut at the same track as he chased home the highly-regarded Highland Lodge, so it was no surprise to see him go one place better at his trainer’s local track early this month.
He remains an exciting prospect – especially as McCain’s string continue in excellent heart.
Yes Tom left a favourable impression when successful at Ayr a couple of weeks ago and he should go in again in the Best Odds Guaranteed At BetVictor.com Novices’ Chase.
Although trained in Northern Ireland by Roger Wilson, the seven-year-old has a fine record at the Scottish circuit, winning twice and placing three times from six starts.
Having competed in a couple of hot Irish novice events, he justified strong market support with a brilliant round of jumping over course and distance. This might be a slightly warmer contest, but Yes Tom is expected to get the job done.
There is a decent card at Plumpton and the star of the show might well be Alan King’s Montbazon.
The high-class bumper performer ran an excellent race in defeat on his first start over timber, going down by just a length to subsequent Tolworth Hurdle runner-up Colour Squadron.
