14:40 Sedgefield

Sunday 12 February 2017

All14:1014:4015:1015:4016:1016:40

Wills Property Services Maiden Hurdle

Off time: 14:41 | Winning time: 4m 32.13s

Bering Upsun^h²⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 11-5| J: Steven Fox⁽⁵⁾| T: J Ewart

8/1

Signs of promise in two of four outings in bumpers on soft ground. Well held on hurdling debut at Ayr last month and likely more needed to take this.

Form: 20/4548

Culmination¹⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 11-5| J: W T Kennedy| T: D McCain Jnr

11/10

Flat winner in France and has run well in two hurdle events so far. Finished fourth on heavy ground at Uttoxeter last month and yard going well at present (5/23 of late).

Form: 44

Freewheel⁶⁵

Age: 7| Weight: 11-5| J: B S Hughes| T: C Grant

8/1

Dual winner on the flat at up to 1m1f including on heavy. Finished well beaten on most recent flat outing at Newcastle on the AW two months ago and debuts for a new yard here. Likely best watched today.

Form: P4-

Le Deluge^t¹²¹

Age: 7| Weight: 11-5| J: Finian O'Toole⁽⁵⁾| T: Micky Hammond

40/1

Six time flat winner including over 1m1f at Redcar last july. Well held on most recent outing on the AW four months ago and Flat form suggests he's likely to prefer better ground than is forecast here.

Form: /-

The Wise One²⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 11-5| J: Jan Faltejsek| T: J Ewart

6/1

Point-to-point winner in Ireland last spring but well held in two hurdles outings including when 30l third on heavy at Ayr last time out. Interesting to see how he fares in this.

Form: 193331

Come On Lulu¹⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 10-12| J: Thomas Dowson⁽⁵⁾| T: D Thompson

100/1

16 race maiden on the flat with best effort coming when third of 12 at Catterick in october. Probably best watched on hurdles bow.

Form: P464-

Rain In The Face⁹

Age: 4| Weight: 10-9| J: Jonathan England| T: S England

40/1

Had nine outings without registering a victory on the flat and never sighted on hurdling debut for this in-form yard at Catterick earlier this month. Will probably be of more consequence once handicapping.

Form: 75064P-

Deauville Crystal^t¹⁸

Age: 4| Weight: 10-2| J: C Gethings⁽⁵⁾| T: N J Hawke

5/2

Flat winner in Germany as a two-year-old and stepped up on hurdling debut in december when finishing runner-up at Ludlow last month. Receives weight from all her rivals here and likely to go well again for a yard who have a good record here (2/5 in recent seasons).

Form: 212115

Non-Runners

Strait Of Magellan⁴⁸

Weight: 11-5| Age: 5

T: N G Richards J: Craig Nichol

Forecasts

Culmination (11/10), Deauville Crystal (5/2), Strait Of Magellan (5/1), The Wise One (6/1), Bering Upsun (8/1), Freewheel (8/1), Rain In The Face (40/1), Le Deluge (40/1), Come On Lulu (100/1)

DEAUVILLE CRYSTAL shaped like a promising individual when finishing runner-up at Ludlow last time out. The filly stayed on well on soft ground so should appreciate the likely underfoot conditions while she performed to a decent level on the flat including when contesting a listed event on her final start in that sphere. The selection can get the better of Culmination who's shown promise in two outings to date including at Uttoxeter last time out and who's yard do well at this venue with a 23% strike rate in recent seasons. Strait Of Magellan is another to show promise in the past and he can put his experience to good use by getting the better of some lightly raced horses and hurdling debutants for third. 1. Deauville Crystal 2. Culmination 3. Strait Of Magellan