The last 11 winners have all raced three times over fences, which is not a stat which supporters of the heavily backed favoruite Time For Rupert will be pleased with.
Paul Webber's charge has only raced twice over the larger obstacles, and although he has been successful in both he also has to overcome an absence which is not good news according to the stats.
You have to go back to 1962 to find a winner that had been off the track longer than Rupert has since suffering a setback which ruled him out of his intended prep race.
* Horses aged 7 or 8 have won 14 of the last 16 renewals
*22 out of the last 23 winners had all come first or second last time out
