Deep Water has come tumbling down the handicap after a long losing sequence, but still offers enough to suggest that he can win off this mark. Twice a course winner over two miles, he goes in any ground and is a seasoned professional in this sort of contest. He has been knocking on the door from around this mark on his last two starts and although not the horse he once was, he can give weight to almost all his opponents and win. Ontos has had a good campaign, winning at Huntingdon, Sedgefield, Perth and then here, but he is high enough in the weights and has yet to win from this mark. He should find a couple too good but could make the frame. The handicapper has not been lenient with Earl Sigurd on what he has achieved and the gelding may just need this after a nine-month absence. That said, he handles the ground and his trainer is in great form, so a good run is on the cards. The handicapper has not missed Star Trooper, who was a convincing soft ground winner at Sedgefield last time, and he has been raised 11lbs as a result. That may well be enough to stop him here, though he should also run well enough to be in the shake up and should at the very least be able to reverse placings with Political Sox on their most recent running with a 16lb pull.
