Happy 50th Birthday Gerry McGladery Handicap Hurdle

Off time: 15:30 | Winning time: 6m 13.86s

Jump For Dough¹⁶

Age: 7| Weight: 11-12| J: Thomas Willmott⁽¹⁰⁾| T: Miss Lucinda V Russell| OR: 110| CD

6/5

Milan gelding who earned his corn when winning over C&D on his third start for the yard earlier this month. Raised 6lb for a 2L defeat of Court Baloo, his jumping was his forte, and he surely has more to offer.

Form: 6-13441

Waltz Darling^p³³

Age: 10| Weight: 11-10| J: Miss E Todd⁽⁷⁾| T: G Boanas| OR: 108| CD

8/1

Hasn't won since December 2015 (chase), and the handicapper appears firmly in control. 4lb lower than when third over C&D on his penultimate start in early November, but beaten 21L on that occasion.

Form: 328235

Tap Night²⁰³

Age: 11| Weight: 11-10| J: Blair Campbell⁽⁵⁾| T: Miss Lucinda V Russell| OR: 108| C

13/2

Has never fulfilled the lofty expectations that were held of him during his younger years, and is clearly on the downgrade at the age of 11. His last success came here in December 2015 (2m3f), and whilst 16lb lower, he makes no appeal.

Form: 62746-7

Night Comes In²⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 11-4| J: Callum Whillans⁽³⁾| T: D W Whillans| OR: 102

12/1

After four starts (2m to 2m4f), we're still waiting to see if this Definite Article gelding possesses any natural ability. If he does, handicapping is likely to bring this to the fore, but hard to fancy unless the market vibes are positive.

Form: 65-00

Fraser Canyon^t,v³²

Age: 6| Weight: 10-13| J: Alan Johns| T: Tim Vaughan| OR: 97| CD

7/2

Finally broke his duck when scoring over C&D last month (good), beating Lady London by a dwindling short-head. A subsequent 3lb rise in the weights looks about accurate, with his previous efforts suggesting softer ground should hold no fears.

Form: 643-5P1

Cruachan^p²⁸

Age: 9| Weight: 10-12| J: Grant Cockburn⁽³⁾| T: Mrs L B Normile| OR: 96

12/1

Broke a lengthy losing sequence when taking a deep ground 2m4f handicap hurdle at Perth in September, but folded tamely off this mark after a short break under similar conditions at Ayr. Not the safest option in terms of predictability.

Form: 026-P10

Non-Runners

Apachee Prince¹⁸

Weight: 10-8| Age: 9

T: A C Whillans J: Kieron Edgar

Forecasts

Jump For Dough (6/5), Fraser Canyon (7/2), Apachee Prince (9/2), Tap Night (13/2), Waltz Darling (8/1), Cruachan (12/1), Night Comes In (12/1)

Reliability and predictability aren't labels that can be associated with too many of these horses, so this looks a golden opportunity for JUMP FOR DOUGH to follow up his recent C&D success despite racing from a 6lb higher mark. He appeared to relish the switch back to hurdles, and jumped impeccably throughout, winning in the style of a horse with plenty more to offer. Thomas Willmott retains the ride, with his 10lb claim an invaluable asset, so another bottle of Edinburgh Gin looks likely to be heading the way of Kinross based trainer Lucinda Russell. Apachee Prince can fill the forecast spot if bringing his 'A' game to the table.