Racing Partnership Selling Handicap Hurdle

Off time: 12:50 | Winning time: 5m 22.9s

Serenity Now¹⁶

Age: 9| Weight: 10-11| J: Mr Kaine Wood⁽⁵⁾| T: B Ellison| OR: 117| D

7/4

Has seen much more action on the Flat (rated 64) than over jumps this year, but returned to hurdles in a Huntingdon claimer (2m, good) last time to be beaten just over 2L. Since dropped 2lb and looks to have a bit to find with one or two of these.

Form: 03F/F-P2

Minstrel Royal^t¹⁷

Age: 7| Weight: 10-9| J: Nathan Moscrop⁽⁵⁾| T: P A Kirby| OR: 115

6/4

Scored for Nicky Henderson in a Warwick handicap hurdle (2m3f, good) in April when 2lb higher and ran well in a similar race to this on his first start for this yard at Stratford in September. 6lb lower today and with stable in form he has claims.

Form: P1-0377

Occasionally Yours⁷^{(ex 7)}

Age: 13| Weight: 10-1| J: J M Quinlan| T: A Blackmore| OR: 100| CD

9/4

Evergreen performer who comes here on the back of a win over a similar trip at Huntingdon, for which he carries a penalty. You have to go back as far as 2011 to find the last time he was able to win from a mark like today's, so others preferred.

Form: 144-551

Non-Runners

Nautical Nitwit¹⁰

Weight: 11-12| Age: 8

T: P A Kirby J: James Bowen

Cliffside Park¹⁵

Weight: 11-0| Age: 8

T: O Murphy J: R Johnson

Forecasts

Minstrel Royal (6/4), Serenity Now (7/4), Nautical Nitwit (2/1), Occasionally Yours (9/4), Cliffside Park (9/4)

There many only be a few in this, but it is a race that could go several ways. Nautical Nitwit is the class horse in the field and it is not hard to envisage him having too much for his opponents, but his stablemate MINSTREL ROYAL races over his optimum trip, has the stable's useful claimer Nathan Moscrop up and looks to be on a handy mark, so he is the suggestion. Cliffside Park looks an obvious danger, while Serenity Now is not ruled out despite appearing to have a few pounds to find if the others perform like they can.