YOU can see why History Of Fashion is favourite for this afternoon’s Vertem Eider Chase at Newcastle.

Pat Fahy’s horse is a progressive staying chaser, he stayed on well to win a three-mile handicap chase at Down Royal last time, and there is every chance that the step up to this extreme trip today will suit.

Pat Fahy knows what it is required for these big staying handicap chases in Britain.

Nuaffe’s win in the Greenalls Gold Cup at Haydock was a while ago admittedly – 27 years ago yesterday actually – but, much more recently, Mister Fogpatches ran a big race to finish third in the Scottish Grand National at Ayr last April.

History Of Fashion is up significantly in grade today, racing off a British handicap mark of 130, 11lb higher than the mark off which he won that 0-123 handicap at Down Royal last time.

Also, he has never run left-handed over fences, and he can tend to go to his right. You can see him running a big race, but he has been well found in the market, and Court Master is a more attractive betting proposition at around twice the favourite’s odds.

Big performance

Michael Scudamore’s horse put up a big performance to finish second behind Kapcorse in the Sir Peter O’Sullevan Memorial Handicap Chase over two miles and six and a half furlongs at Newbury’s Ladbrokes Trophy meeting on his second run this season, his first run back after a wind operation.

He was well beaten by the winner, but he kept on well to finish a good second over a trip that was on the sharp side for him.

A distant third behind Commodore and the aforementioned Mister Fogpatches at Cheltenham’s December meeting, he stepped up on that last time when he won a three-mile chase at Newcastle. That was just a three-horse race, but he jumped well and he won nicely.

That should set him up for today’s race, a race that has surely been on his radar for a while, given that the owner and trainer won the Eider Chase in 2017 with Mysteree, who also finished fourth in the race in the 2016 and who finished second in the race in 2019, going down by just a neck to Crosspark.

The step up in trip is an unknown, but Court Master stays three miles well and, from the family of Amberleigh House, there is every chance that he will see out today’s extreme distance.

We know that he goes well at Newcastle and, while he handles soft ground all right, good to soft ground would be ideal.

Kempton

The Coral Trophy at Kempton is just as competitive as the Eider Chase, but Zanza could out-run his odds, now that he is stepping up to three miles for the first time.

Zanza’s last three runs have been at Cheltenham and, in the first two of those, in the Paddy Power Gold Cup in November and in the Racing Post Gold Cup in December, he shaped as if a step up in trip from two and a half miles would suit.

He was pulled up on his most recent run, back at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day, but he made a bad mistake at the fence before the water, and another one at the water, after which Tom O’Brien wisely pulled him up.

He has never run at Kempton, but he goes well right-handed, he finished a close-up third behind Eldorado Allen and Hitman in the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter in November, when he had Greaneteen well behind in fourth, and he goes well on flat tracks, he won a good two-mile handicap chase at Newbury last season.

The handicapper dropped him by 2lb for his latest run at Cheltenham to a mark of 145, and that is a mark that he could surpass now, stepping up to three miles for the first time.

Galahad Quest is another who could improve for stepping up to three miles for the first time, while Zhiguli is a progressive chaser who was impressive in winning at Lingfield last time.

However, the ground may be better than ideal for Gary Moore’s horse, who goes particularly well at Lingfield and, at a similar price, Zanza is the bet.

Recommended

Court Master, 3.15 Newcastle, 10/1 (generally), 1 point each-way

Zanza, 3.37 Kempton, 10/1 (generally), 1 point win