Last Ran: 19th December 2008

The Noel Novices Chase is run on Friday, on day one of Ascots great Christmas meeting. A small field this year but nevertheless one that looks to be a thriller with a top notch line up for us to consider.

First up we have Buck The Legend who has had a terrific start to his campaign with wins at Exeter and Newbury. He has got to be one of the best novice chasers but his life has got tougher with his penalty here, I just hope he can cope with what seems to be a tough test for him.

Deep Purple trained by Evan Williams looks like he could call the shots here, he was last run at Taunton towards the end of November where he made up for a poor chase debut to make it home first. This will have boosted his confidence no end, he looks on track now and has a great chance.

Panjo Bere arrives here to try to make it a hat trick, he was last seen winning at Plumpton in November, looking every inch a great sort, he may lack a bit of experience at times, but in a field as small as this he has got to be worth considering.