14:40 Newbury

Saturday 4 March 2017

All13:3014:0514:4015:1515:5016:2517:00

William Hill 'High 5' Supporting Greatwood Handicap Hurdle

Off time: 14:40 | Winning time: 4m 12.0s

Melodic Rendezvous^p¹⁴

Age: 11| Weight: 11-12| J: Matt Griffiths| T: J Scott| OR: 138

7/1

Not won since 2014 and looks past his best now. Would need heavy ground to be of any interest.

Form: 25P-24P

Montbazon³¹⁹

Age: 10| Weight: 11-9| J: Wayne Hutchinson| T: A King| OR: 135

17/2

Not won since 2012 and has another significant absence to overcome. Pulled up when last seen and not one to rely upon.

Form: 44/0U3P-

Remiluc^t⁴⁰

Age: 8| Weight: 11-8| J: Harry Reed⁽⁷⁾| T: C Gordon| OR: 134

9/1

Still relatively unexposed but best form has come on faster ground than this and he's gone up nearly a stone in the weights for not winning; that could possibly explain the booking of a 7lb claimer.

Form: 192/313

Bloody Mary³⁵²

Age: 6| Weight: 11-7| J: N de Boinville| T: N J Henderson| OR: 133

7/4

Not seen since last year's Cheltenham festival when she finished third behind Limini in the Mares Hurdle. Handicapper hasn't taken any chances with her mark though and the absence is a concern.

Form: 11113-6

Chesterfield⁶²

Age: 7| Weight: 11-5| J: J McGrath| T: J W Mullins| OR: 131

9/2

Formerly a fair novice for John Ferguson, but suffered a significant absence from the track (two years) after falling at the last at Kempton (2m) in December 2014. Shown very little in two runs since his return but too early to rule out and handicapper's giving him a chance.

Form: 1211F/

Doubly Clever³⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 10-13| J: T Scudamore| T: M Blake| OR: 125

14/1

Shaped with some promise at Exeter two starts back but disappointed again last time. Handicap mark starting to lenient though and did rattle off a hat-trick in this sphere back in 2015, that included a victory on soft ground, so not without claims.

Form: 783544-

Golden Birthday³⁴

Age: 6| Weight: 10-11| J: N P Madden| T: H Fry| OR: 123

8/1

Won a Plumpton hurdle but looks harshly handicapped off the back of that. Trainer capable of improving his horses in a short space of time but the gelding was disappointing last time at Fontwell and others preferred.

Form: 261430-

Loup De Louve¹⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 10-10| J: Joshua Moore| T: G & J Moore| OR: 122

14/1

Won a decent race in France last year but didn't show much on UK debut. Should come on plenty for that effort and yard do well with these types so he looks more interesting than some.

Form: 1-08

Non-Runners

Curious Carlos¹⁴⁵

Weight: 11-9| Age: 8

T: P & M Bowen J: S Bowen

Sumkindofking⁷⁵

Weight: 11-4| Age: 6

T: T R George J: Adrian Heskin

Canton Prince¹²¹

Weight: 11-2| Age: 6

T: Tim Vaughan J: R Johnson

London Prize²⁵

Weight: 11-2| Age: 6

T: Ian Williams J: T J O'Brien

Forecasts

Bloody Mary (7/4), London Prize (4/1), Chesterfield (9/2), Melodic Rendezvous (7/1), Sumkindofking (7/1), Golden Birthday (8/1), Montbazon (17/2), Remiluc (9/1), Canton Prince (12/1), Doubly Clever (14/1), Loup De Louve (14/1), Curious Carlos (14/1)

The one's who look set to head the market (Bloody Mary and London Prize) both have question marks over them so it may be worth looking for some value elsewhere in the field. DOUBLY CLEVER rattled off a hat-trick two years back and shaped with some promise at Exeter two starts ago. He looks well-handicapped on his best form and he is taken to bounce back. Chesterfield hasn't shown much in two starts since an absence but it's too early to be writing him off and Loup De Louve is a fascinating contender and he should have learned plenty from his UK debut. He represents the Gary Moore team who are in flying form of late.