17:00 Lingfield

Thursday 16 February 2017

All13:4514:1514:4515:2015:5516:3017:00

Betway Handicap

Off time: 17:00 | Winning time: 2m 6.4s

(4)

Zabeel Star¹⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 9-7| J: L P Keniry| T: D Killahena & G McPherson| OR: 74

3/1

Victorious at Kempton three starts back and not beaten far in two outings subsequently including off this mark over 1m3f at the same track last time out. Rare runner at this track for his trainer but likely to go well if repeating his recent efforts.

Form: 61-2430

(8)

Russian Reward¹⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 9-6| J: J Mitchell| T: Mrs A J Perrett| OR: 73

8/1

Winner over a mile at Chelmsford in November but well held in three outings since. Takes a marked step up in trip here and interesting to see how he fares for a yard with a 20% strike rate here (28/138).

Form: 612625

(1)

Al Khafji¹⁶⁶

Age: 4| Weight: 9-6| J: D A Parkes⁽⁵⁾| T: J Gask| OR: 74

8/1

Winner over 7f here back in 2015 but had just three starts last year, beaten 6l over an extended mile at Wolverhampton last time out and having his second outing for the yard off a break here.

Form: 5-76659

(6)

Black Dave⁷

Age: 7| Weight: 9-5| J: K Shoemark⁽³⁾| T: P D Evans| OR: 72

8/1

Winner of a seller at Wolverhampton four starts back and ran well in an amateur riders handicap over C&D last time out. Still feasibly handicapped on his old form having won off a 3lb higher mark 13 months ago and interesting to see if he can back that last run up.

Form: 834586

(7)

Exceeding Power²⁸

Age: 6| Weight: 9-5| J: Tom Marquand| T: M R Bosley| OR: 72

5/1

Finished third on his penultimate outing over this C&D but could manage only fourth at Chelmsford off a 1lb higher mark last time out. Had just the two outings at this 1m2f trip but he remains on a mark 5lb higher than for his most recent success and he may have to give best to two or three others again here.

Form: 323246

(5)

Mercy Me²⁸

Age: 5| Weight: 9-3| J: A Kirby| T: J Ryan| OR: 70

6/1

Finished third here off a 1lb higher mark on her penultimate outing but well held at Chelmsford subsequently. Remains 3lb higher than for her most recent success and a minor role looks likely again here.

Form: 136173

(3)

Torch¹⁴

Age: 4| Weight: 9-2| J: T J Murphy| T: J Butler| OR: 70

66/1

Managed just the one win in 13 outings and well beaten on all three efforts at a mile on the AW since switching to this yard. Market support would be interesting but hard to make a case for at present.

Form: 607-007

(10)

Gold Merlion¹⁹⁸

Age: 4| Weight: 9-2| J: J Fanning| T: C & M Johnston| OR: 70

33/1

Winner on debut back in 2015 but well beaten in two subsequent juvenile starts including in a valuable sales event in Ireland. Well held over 1m2f & 1m4f last summer including in a claimer latest and plenty to prove returned to handicaps here.

Form: 130/74-

(9)

Zephyros⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 8-11| J: Rob Hornby⁽³⁾| T: D G Bridgwater| OR: 64

5/1

Finished one place behind Black Dave when fourth at Lingfield on his most recent outing. Latest winning run came off a 5lb lower mark and on turf and a minor role looks likely again here.

Form: 321235

(2)

Siouxperhero^p²¹

Age: 8| Weight: 8-7| J: M Dwyer| T: W R Muir| OR: 60

25/1

Tackles 1m2f for the first time here having finished runner-up over half a furlong shorter at Wolverhampton last month. Won over an extended mile off this mark three months ago but inconsistency makes him a risky proposition these days.

Form: 282105

Non-Runners

(11)

Cadeau Magnifique²⁶

Weight: 9-6| Age: 5

T: R A Fahey J: Non Runner

Forecasts

Zabeel Star (3/1), Exceeding Power (5/1), Zephyros (5/1), Mercy Me (6/1), Cadeau Magnifique (7/1), Black Dave (8/1), Russian Reward (8/1), Al Khafji (8/1), Siouxperhero (25/1), Gold Merlion (33/1), Torch (66/1)

ZABEEL STAR hails from a yard better known for their exploits over jumps but he can follow up his promising recent efforts by taking this competitive 1m2f handicap. The selection was victorious over this trip three starts back and boasts a good draw here and can register his third career success at the expense of Black Dave who is a C&D winner who ran well in an amateur riders event here last time out and Cadeau Magnifique who can put a disappointing run at a mile behind him by taking third here. 1. Zabeel Star 2. Black Dave 3. Cadeau Magnifique