15:35 Nottingham

Friday 18 August 2017

All13:3014:0014:3015:0015:3516:1016:4017:10

Chalkley Maiden Stakes

Off time: 15:35 | Winning time: 1m 45.81s

(1)

Bleu Et Noir^h⁹

Age: 6| Weight: 9-12| J: K T O'Neill| T: Tim Vaughan

100/1

Fairly useful over hurdles but lacked a change of gear on debut on the Flat at Kempton earlier in the month. Big improvement needed and others make more appeal on these terms.

Form: 0

(7)

Desi Daru²⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 9-12| J: Saleem Golam| T: C Allen

100/1

Cost just £600 at the Ascot sales, he made no impact on debut in a Bumper and has posted two similar efforts since switched to the Flat. Others readily preferred.

Form: 88

(11)

Bubbles Arcade¹¹

Age: 5| Weight: 9-7| J: William Carson| T: B R Millman

50/1

Won a Bumper at Newton Abbot but two starts under this code of racing leave a lot to be desired. Another who looks to need more time, distance, and a handicap mark before she can be seriously considered as a contender.

Form: 08

(12)

Afterburner¹⁵

Age: 3| Weight: 9-6| J: Josephine Gordon| T: H Palmer

25/1

Two modest efforts to date need to be bettered and also feasible another couple furlongs won't go amiss in due course. Does have experience of this course though.

Form: 87

(13)

Dawaaleeb¹⁴

Age: 3| Weight: 9-6| J: Jim Crowley| T: C Hills| OR: 83

5/2

Cost $325,000 as a yearling so it must be painful for connections to see him running for the prize-money on offer. However, this looks to be about his grade for the time being and, having shown improvement at Newmarket last time, he cannot be discounted in this moderate event.

Form: 572

(6)

Powderhouse^p,t1⁷⁴

Age: 3| Weight: 9-6| J: P Makin| T: C Appleby

7/1

Showed improvement from his debut run when finishing third at Leicester in June. Been given plenty of time since then, so needs to prove his fitness. Another keep tabs on in the betting.

Form: 63

(5)

Rising¹²⁰

Age: 3| Weight: 9-6| J: G Lee| T: B J Meehan

5/1

Modest efforts in two maidens so far and improvement now required. Gelded since his last run, so probably best to gauge the betting before assuming he will be more focused this time around.

Form: 5-7

(2)

Sharja Bridge¹⁹

Age: 3| Weight: 9-6| J: Andrea Atzeni| T: R Varian| BF

4/6

Showed plenty of promise on debut but was turned over a long-odds-on at Pontefract latest. Respected still, but also shows he has his frailties and needs to step things up a couple of notches.

Form: 32

(9)

Stolen Angel¹⁶

Age: 3| Weight: 9-6| J: A Mullen| T: A Brittain

50/1

Needs to improve greatly on the evidence of his two starts so far and others make a good bit more appeal at this stage.

Form: 59

(3)

Fikhaar¹³

Age: 3| Weight: 9-1| J: Joe Doyle| T: K A Ryan

66/1

Cost just 4,000gns at the Newmarket sales, her dam is a well-related individual but she has yet to live up to the potential. Qualifies for a mark after this and very possible she already needs a stiffer test of stamina.

Form: 97

(10)

Poet's Quest³⁷

Age: 3| Weight: 9-1| J: F Norton| T: D K Ivory

66/1

Finished in front of just one horse in two starts to date is a damning statistic from a betting perspective - safe to look elsewhere.

Form: 00

Non-Runners

(8)

Good Man¹⁹

Weight: 9-12| Age: 4

T: Karen McLintock J: D C Costello

(4)

Kai Tak And Back

Weight: 9-6| Age: 3

T: W R Muir J: Rob Hornby

Forecasts

Sharja Bridge (4/6), Dawaaleeb (5/2), Rising (5/1), Powderhouse (7/1), Kai Tak And Back (16/1), Afterburner (25/1), Good Man (33/1), Bubbles Arcade (50/1), Stolen Angel (50/1), Fikhaar (66/1), Poet's Quest (66/1), Bleu Et Noir (100/1), Desi Daru (100/1)

As ever, the betting will be informative for this maiden. Dawaaleeb, Powderhouse and Sharja Bridge are all shortlisted as ones to bear in mind if supported. However, KAI TAK AND BACK won't need to be anything out of the ordinary to figure strongly in this company and this 200,000gns purchase gets the nod for a speculative punt in a poor looking maiden.