Heavy ground will be the order of the day at Folkestone this afternoon which is a concern, although it could be worth following Mishrif in the 2.50 for Peter Chapple-Hyam.

Slowly away and hampered at the start on his debut, he still caught the eye when running on to finish fifth in a Newmarket seven furlong maiden won by Wingwalker and he has improved at home since. The fact that he handled the good to soft going that day is an encouraging sign for the likely underfoot conditions he will face today and he could just have too much class for likely favourite Captain Ellis.

At Bath it might be worthy opposing favourite Bright Enough in the 2.40 as there is precious little evidence he will handle the softer going. A winner last time out on the all weather at Kempton, he had previously finished second at Folkestone on fast ground but with further rain forecast it could well be like a bog by the time he goes to post.

River Captain could be the sensible alternative having won a Salisbury nursery over seven furlongs on a softer surface when staying on strongly; suggesting the extra furlong here could well be a bonus. The second that day (River Dee) has already boosted the form with some decent runs in better company and he could well be the one to beat.

Finally, for those of you who like the shorter prices I would not put you off backing Syvilla in the 4.10 for the very much in-form Rae Guest yard. After a string of seconds she deserves to get her head in front and, with her last run at Windsor being on soft ground, there is every reason to believe she will handle the more testing conditions. The opposition today looks fairly average and I doubt connections will find many better opportunities for her to get off the mark than this.