18:35 Leicester

Monday 22 May 2017

All18:0518:3519:0519:3520:0520:35

James Ward Selling Stakes

  • 4YO plus  |   Class 5  |   1m 3f 179y  |   Soft  |   6 Runners  |   Turf  |   Weighed In
  • Off time: 18:35  |   Winning time: 2m 43.27s
The word Sky in blue and Bet in white with a red background.
The word Betfair in black.
The words Paddy Power in green.
Cloth number
Odds
Horse A-Z
Show odds
1
(8)
Horse silk
Retrievet11
Age: 10|  Weight: 9-4| J: D C Costello| T: J A Osborne| OR:  90| BF| D
1/2
Beaten favourite last time out but holds probably the best form in the field with his most recent victory coming at Wolverhampton in February. Slight question mark over his ability to handle cut in the ground but he has a proven track record at this level and could be tough to beat.
3
(2)
Horse silk
Mr Standfast71
Age: 4|  Weight: 9-0| J: Kieren Fox| T: A Phillips| OR:  47
25/1
Has never gotten within 9L of a winner on any of his starts and returns to the Flat having shown next to nothing on his hurdles debut last time. Another minor role looks likely.
4
(4)
Horse silk
Optical Highp55
Age: 8|  Weight: 9-0| J: Aled Beech(7)| T: A Forbes
33/1
Won his only race over hurdles over a 2m7f trip in very testing conditions, and made little impact in that sphere other than that. Flat debut today but will surely come up short on all known form, even in a race as weak as this.
5
(3)
Horse silk
The Greedy Boyb,t19
Age: 4|  Weight: 9-0| J: Joshua Bryan(7)| T: S Flook| OR:  43
12/1
0/16 in his career so far but the ground shouldn't be a problem and it's possible there's more to come over these sorts of trips, with much of his racing so far having coming over shorter.
6
(6)
Horse silk
Whitchurchp23
Age: 5|  Weight: 9-0| J: P Aspell| T: P A Kirby| OR:  49| D
16/1
Won a weak race back in October, but this isn't any better in terms of quality and he is proven over the distance, unlike many of his rivals. Hasn't run well on the all-weather recently but perhaps a return to the turf will help.
8
(7)
Horse silk
Moon Over Rio22
Age: 6|  Weight: 8-9| J: Megan Nicholls(5)| T: B Haslam| OR:  57| D
3/1
Showed little when returning to the Flat following a time spent hurdling at Thirsk last month. More needed here but the ground should suit her better and she's slightly more favorably weighted under these conditions.

Non-Runners

2
(5)
Horse silk
Dutch Barney23
Weight: 9-0|  Age: 7
T: B Leavy  J: R Ffrench
NR
7
(1)
Horse silk
Lady Lekki342
Weight: 8-9|  Age: 5
T: B Haslam  J: Adam J McNamara
NR

Forecasts

Retrieve (1/2), Lady Lekki (13/8), Moon Over Rio (3/1), The Greedy Boy (12/1), Whitchurch (16/1), Mr Standfast (25/1), Optical High (33/1), Dutch Barney (100/1)

Verdict

This is a very weak race indeed in which the veteran RETRIEVE is the one with by far the best form in the book. There are concerns over his ability on the forecast soft ground but if showing he can handle it he should make easy work of these, including several horses who have never won a race, nor look likely to. Lady Lekki looks the second-best option, and has shown she does handle cut, while Whitchurch has been running poorly on the all-weather but has an outside chance on his return to turf.
  1. Retrieve
  2. Lady Lekki
  3. Whitchurch

Prize Money

1st: £3,234.002nd: £962.003rd: £481.004th: £240.00

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