THE last time the Tenner Bet visited Down Royal, I did so in a dress, wicker sandals and a straw hat. Well, it was Ladies Day. Since space is limited, here is the legalled version: it was my stag weekend and, you know, zany things happen in the weeks before one is married.

From memory, it was a day reminiscent of your average Ladies Day: there I was suppressing the urge to be sick all over my summer frock, fending off amorous attention, while simultaneously quaffing liqueur at the rate of a Wild West ranch hand. As for the betting itself, it was equally vomit inducing with nary a penny left from a substantial kitty. The retreat to Belfast at the end of that hazy afternoon resembled Napoleon's ill-fated return to Paris from Moscow although I'm not quite sure the Emperor was much of a Buckfast fan.

But enough self-indulgence. It is to Down Royal we must return this weekend in order to staunch the self-inflicted bleeding that has saturated these pages. The losses are climbing again and despite all credible efforts to pick out a winning football bet, the gods continue to conspire against even the seemingly soundest of logic. The details of last weekend's selection are barely worth regurgitating for fear that they induce further bouts of nausea yet do so I must – Chelsea romping to a 7-0 win over Norwich City in Saturday's early afternoon kick-off appeared to have lanced a boil and yet it was suppurating again by evening courtesy of Hearts' and Sunderland's joint efforts at self-destruction.

Alas, it is time to look elsewhere again to rid ourselves of a debt that is starting to resemble the one that was racked up during my student days.

Down Royal hosts the big race of the weekend – the Ladbrokes Champion Chase – and boasts a field worthy of Gold Cup day at Cheltenham. The 2021 Gold Cup winner Minella Indo will be there, as will Frodon who was four and half lengths back in fifth that day while another fifth-place finisher Delta Work, this time in the 2020 renewal, will enter the race with live hopes.

The good news? It's another trends race. The less joyous information? It's one for those at the head of the market – and with only five horses declared it means we'll not be handing in our notice on Monday morning should the research that follows yield a winner.

The age profile for this favours something between seven and nine so that immediately removes Gordon Elliott's 50/1 outsider Ravenhill which, on last season's form, is probably a good thing. It's also a race which historically favours horses that ran more than 186 days previously. That suits Delta Work, Frodon and Minella Indo but not Galvin – one of three Elliott horses in the race – which won the Irish Daily Star Chase at Punchestown earlier this month and is undefeated in his last six starts. Previous course experience is a box ticker with nine out of 12 previous winners, as is distance and chase form. While a handicap rating of 160 or higher is good news for all of the remaining protagonists. Elliot's third horse in the race is the aforementioned Delta Work and while an injury hampered much of last season, he has been reunited with Jack Kennedy, who seems to get most out of him, for this afternoon's race after Elliott insisted his stable jockey take the ride. It's a positive since Kennedy was in the saddle when Minella Indo won at the Festival – and was on board Delta Work when winning last year's Irish Gold Cup.

Selection: Delta Work (8/1, e/w)

Season's total: -£40