18:45 Wolverhampton

Friday 13 January 2017

All17:4518:1518:4519:1519:4520:1520:45

Betway Marathon Handicap

Off time: 18:45 | Winning time: 3m 2.66s

(8)

Pivot Bridge⁴⁹^{(ex 6)}

Age: 9| Weight: 10-4| J: A Kirby| T: A McGuinness| OR: 65

8/11

Scored easily over C&D last week and Adam Kirby again takes the ride on this Irish raider. Carries his 6lb penalty here and despite his burden must go close again if in a similar mood to eight days ago.

Form: 320117-

(1)

Yul Finegold^b¹⁴

Age: 7| Weight: 9-11| J: D Nolan| T: C R Dore| OR: 64

66/1

Hasn't shown very much in recent outings and is struggling for form. Has been cut some slack by the handicapper but much better needed if he is to be competitive here.

Form: 569907

(13)

Captain Swift^p¹³

Age: 6| Weight: 9-10| J: A Mullen| T: J Mackie| OR: 63

14/1

Change of tactics worked a treat when racing close to the pace here 17 days ago before staying on well to score in a driving finish. Application of first-time cheekpieces is interesting and with Andrew Mullen again on board should be thereabouts once again.

Form: 361-234

(12)

Gambol^p1¹⁶

Age: 7| Weight: 9-9| J: George Downing⁽³⁾| T: Ian Williams| OR: 62

14/1

Hasn't won since July 2014 and a fall over hurdles at Huntingdon in November unlikely to have helped his confidence. Trainer has sent out 5 winners in the last two weeks though so any market interest would be noteworthy.

Form: 5060-76

(10)

Earthwindorfire^p⁶⁵

Age: 6| Weight: 9-8| J: T J Murphy| T: G Deacon| OR: 61

50/1

One paced 12-race maiden, but did shape well when runner-up at Kempton on his penultimate start. Tries a longer trip today that could bring about improvement, so not one to totally rule out of calculations.

Form: 640629-

(5)

Topaling⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 9-6| J: Thomas Brown| T: M H Tompkins| OR: 59

20/1

Scored here over two miles in March last year but has generally been out of sorts and, despite a falling handicap mark, is hard to get excited about.

Form: 306653

(6)

Dynamo^t¹⁰

Age: 6| Weight: 9-5| J: S W Kelly| T: R Hughes| OR: 58

33/1

Beaten out of sight on only previous visit here and not seen since running disappointingly on fast ground at Bath in August. Looks up against it unless market indicates stable confidence.

Form: 355607-

(9)

Macksville³¹

Age: 4| Weight: 9-4| J: D A Parkes⁽⁵⁾| T: J Gask| OR: 63

8/1

Stable in good form with five winners in recent weeks. Looked as though today's extra two furlongs might be just the ticket when keeping on at one pace in second place over 12 furlongs at Lingfield last week. Feasibly handicapped and looks one for the short list.

Form:

(7)

Stonecoldsoba¹⁷

Age: 4| Weight: 9-2| J: R Winston| T: P D Evans| OR: 61

11/2

In-and-out performer who won here over 12 furlongs three starts back. Again ran with credit at Southwell last time and step up in trip could help - if he's on a going day. Stable currently operating at impressive 27% winning strike rate.

Form: 529318

(11)

Qibtee⁴⁴

Age: 7| Weight: 8-13| J: Phil Dennis⁽⁵⁾| T: J L Eyre| OR: 52

66/1

Infrequent winner who has run poorly on Flat and over Jumps in recent starts. Worth a try though over this longer trip and represents a shrewd yard so any market interest would be worth taking into account

Form: 532444

(3)

Dream Serenade^h¹¹

Age: 4| Weight: 8-5| J: L Morris| T: M Appleby| OR: 50

12/1

Trip no problem and was a fair third over two miles here last week. Stable in form and top jockey booked so has definite place prospects if in the same form this time.

Form: 341574

Non-Runners

(4)

Iona Island⁹

Weight: 9-0| Age: 4

T: P W Hiatt J: Non Runner

(2)

Hollywood All Star³¹

Weight: 8-7| Age: 8

T: D Killahena & G McPherson J: K T O'Neill

Forecasts

Pivot Bridge (8/11), Stonecoldsoba (11/2), Macksville (8/1), Dream Serenade (12/1), Hollywood All Star (12/1), Captain Swift (14/1), Gambol (14/1), Iona Island (20/1), Topaling (20/1), Dynamo (33/1), Earthwindorfire (50/1), Qibtee (66/1), Yul Finegold (66/1)

With little weight and Luke Morris on board, Dream Serenade is expected to once again be there or thereabouts, but the vote goes to in-form Jeremy Gask's MACKSVILLE who has given every indication that this step up in trip could be just the ticket. The big danger could be recent C&D winner Pivot Bridge, but he has plenty of weight and might find this tougher than when romping home last week. It's a similar story for Captain Swift, another to seriously consider in an interesting staying handicap. 1. Macksville 2. Pivot Bridge 3. Dream Serenade