Sam King tipped Partisan Hero to score at Kempton last night and is back with two all-weather selections on Thursday…

Small fields throughout the National Hunt meetings leave little to be desired from a punting perspective, so it looks best to concentrate on the two all-weather fixtures at Newcastle and Chelmsford.

We head to the Gosforth Park venue for our first wager, and I fully expect Barnaby to rattle off the hat-trick in the seven-furlong Class 4 handicap at 5.35.

The Kevin Ryan-trained four-year-old has gone from strength to strength on the all-weather this season and I'd be surprised if he's reached his ceiling yet. A snug success over seven furlongs here at the beginning of last month set up a rise to Class 4 company, but Barnaby proved more than equal to the task when running out a ready winner of a competitive handicap over the same course and distance thirteen days ago, taking his record to six from nine on the all-weather in the process.

That was a warm event for the grade and in all truth, Kevin Ryan's contender never really looked like being troubled as he sat handy against the near side rail before switching into the clear and picking up smartly to score by a going away length and a half under 3lb claimer Oisin McSweeney.

He picked up a 6lb rise in the weights for that effort, which looks more than fair on the face of things although connections have opted to book the talented apprentice Warren Fentiman, who takes off a valuable 7lb. Kevin Ryan's improving gelding is effectively only 2lb higher this time around and he looks like a much more solid proposition than main market rival William Dewhirst, who disappointed when sixth behind Barnaby in the aforementioned handicap just under two weeks ago.

2pt Win – Barnaby

Odds – 5/4

Over at Chelmsford, Jesse Luc holds strong claims in the six-furlong handicap at 6.30 as he seeks the hat-trick, while Southbank is another that is understandably towards the top of the market following a solid runner-up effort 24 days ago.

However, it could pay to take a chance on the well-handicapped Flag Carrier, who is fairly tumbling down the weights as a result of some moderate recent performances.

Brian Toomey's four-year-old evidently comes with risks attached and might not be the most straightforward type of all time. That said, connections have reached for first-time cheekpieces this evening and there's no doubt he has the ability to score off a current mark of 62 based on past exploits.

The gelded son of Starspangledbanner hasn't been seen in the winners' enclosure since scoring off a mark of 75 on his last outing for previous trainer Harry Eustace in January 2023, but he has posted some decent efforts in defeat subsequently, including when producing three consecutive placings on the turf last summer (marks of 69,70, and 70).

Talented jockey Callum Shepherd should have options from stall six and at a general price of around 16/1, he looks worth chancing from an each-way angle.

1pt Each-way – Flag Carrier

Odds – 16/1