19:00 Newcastle

Friday 30 June 2017

All18:0018:3019:0019:3520:0520:4021:10

Betfred Gosforth Park Cup Handicap

Off time: 19:06 | Winning time: 58.58s

(9)

Orion's Bow¹³

Age: 6| Weight: 9-12| J: D Allan| T: T D Easterby| OR: 104| BF| CD

2/1

Slightly disappointing last time out when beaten favourite, but that was a very competitive handicap with suitably narrow distances at the end. Goes off the same mark now in this easier looking heat and has a good chance on the basis of a fine sixth at Ripon in April (6f, good).

Form: 280-640

(1)

Robot Boy¹³

Age: 7| Weight: 9-10| J: Fran Berry| T: T D Barron| OR: 102| D

12/1

Fair third at Musselburgh last time when beaten 3L by Line Of Reason. No better off at the weights now but may improve for this alternative surface, which he tries for the first time.

Form: 713286

(3)

Doc Sportello^p⁷⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 9-9| J: C Lee⁽⁵⁾| T: M Herrington| OR: 101| CD

12/1

Decent sprint handicapper at a lower level than this but has never quite looked up to this standard of race, especially off what looks to be a relatively high mark.

Form: 01-2100

(10)

Line Of Reason¹³

Age: 7| Weight: 9-8| J: Oisin Murphy| T: P T Midgley| OR: 100| D

9/1

Narrow winner of the Scottish Sprint Cup last time and goes up 3lb for that. Has gone well off a similar mark to this in the past and has run well at this course in the past.

Form: 834791

(13)

Afandem^b1⁵⁰

Age: 3| Weight: 9-5| J: Josephine Gordon| T: H Palmer| OR: 103| D

11/1

Has shown he has plenty of ability in the past, including when landing a French Group 3 last year, and has further potential in handicap company wearing first-time blinkers.

Form: 12144-8

(14)

Lexington Abbey^b⁷⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 9-4| J: K Stott| T: K A Ryan| OR: 96| D

12/1

More exposed than most and has come up short in handicaps such as this in the past, but is interesting to see him running on the all-weather for the first time at this age.

Form: 50002-2

(8)

Soie D'leau^p¹⁰

Age: 5| Weight: 9-2| J: T Hamilton| T: Kristin Stubbs| OR: 94| D

11/1

Hasn't been doing enough recently to suggest he is capable of taking this but is on a rapidly decreasing mark and has proven himself to be highly effective over this trip.

Form: 1-47552

(11)

Rasheeq¹³

Age: 4| Weight: 8-13| J: Rachel Richardson⁽³⁾| T: T D Easterby| OR: 91| BF

5/1

Has run some fine races so far this term without quite doing enough to get his head in front. More needed here slightly up in the handicap again but is more progressive than most.

Form: 4/80225

(6)

Distant Past^p⁴⁹

Age: 6| Weight: 8-13| J: T Eaves| T: K A Ryan| OR: 91| CD

25/1

C&D winner last year who has plenty to prove at this level and looks high enough in the weights here, with other, less exposed options available.

Form: 1-55203

(4)

Jack Dexter¹³

Age: 8| Weight: 8-11| J: P Mulrennan| T: J S Goldie| OR: 89| D

16/1

Not totally disgraced in a relatively diverse range of contests recently, but has consistently come up short in handicaps of this nature and needs to take advantage of his lowest mark since September 2012.

Form: 008-860

(7)

Confessional^e/s¹³

Age: 10| Weight: 8-11| J: J Garritty| T: T D Easterby| OR: 89| D

40/1

Not beaten far in some good sprints so far this year but looks vulnerable enough compared to some much less exposed types and arguably slightly better when racing round a bend.

Form: 25-3030

(5)

Escalating^p,t¹⁹

Age: 5| Weight: 8-9| J: Ray Dawson⁽⁷⁾| T: M Appleby| OR: 87| D

14/1

Consistent sort who has mostly been running well in weaker races than this, but deserves his chance in a better quality contest here. On his highest mark since October 2014 but has improved since then and a bold bid can be expected.

Form: 5-12331

Non-Runners

(12)

Hoofalong²⁶⁵

Weight: 9-4| Age: 7

T: M & D Easterby J: Nathan Evans

(2)

Art Collection²²

Weight: 8-10| Age: 4

T: Mrs R Carr J: J P Sullivan

Forecasts

Orion's Bow (2/1), Rasheeq (5/1), Line Of Reason (9/1), Soie D'leau (11/1), Afandem (11/1), Lexington Abbey (12/1), Robot Boy (12/1), Doc Sportello (12/1), Art Collection (12/1), Escalating (14/1), Jack Dexter (16/1), Hoofalong (20/1), Distant Past (25/1), Confessional (40/1)

An open-looking sprint handicap, where a class act could prove the answer, and with that in mind AFANDEM is interesting. A Group 3 winner in France, he has run some excellent races in other top contests and still has scope for further improvement off what could prove to be a lenient handicap mark. If able to steal this race from the head of affairs likely front-runner Sole D'leau is also of interest, while Escalating is worth a try at this level having run some great races in lower-grade events.