16:10 Sedgefield

Sunday 28 January 2018

All13:1013:4014:1014:4015:1015:4016:10

Phoenix Security Mares' Handicap Hurdle

Off time: 16:10 | Winning time: 4m 4.29s

Princess Mononoke⁴⁴

Age: 7| Weight: 11-12| J: Abbie McCain⁽⁷⁾| T: D McCain Jnr| OR: 95

2/1

Point-to-point winner who scored over 2m (soft) in a Hexham novice hurdle in the spring. Not shown a lot in handicaps so far but her mark is sliding and that's potentially helpful.

Form: 13-P583

Barely Black^p1³⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 11-11| J: Henry Brooke| T: Julia Brooke| OR: 94

7/1

Fairly lightly raced maiden. However, she showed precious little at the business end of the race back from a six month break on her handicap debut at Newcastle in December, and is quickly dropped 5lb by the assessor. Wears cheek-pieces.

Form: 9-62427

Toboggan's Gift^p1³⁰⁵

Age: 6| Weight: 11-9| J: W T Kennedy| T: D McCain Jnr| OR: 92

9/2

Has left the care of Ann Duffield following a couple of dismal Fibresand efforts (March 2017). Lightly raced over hurdles (four starts) but has claims on the pick of those efforts if stronger for a more established jumps trainer. Wears cheek-pieces.

Form: 6P/2U-

Russian Royale⁶⁶

Age: 8| Weight: 11-9| J: Mr Joe Wright⁽⁷⁾| T: Micky Hammond| OR: 92| D

8/1

Quirky mare who has refused to race in the past, so not a horse to really trust. Falling to a very winnable mark and she does possess ability, but finding the key to unlock that ability is proving troublesome at present.

Form: 8559-97

Theatre Act^v³³

Age: 7| Weight: 11-7| J: B S Hughes| T: C Grant| OR: 90| C| D

5/1

A winner at this fixture in 2017 (2m5f) with today's rider in the saddle, but she has failed to deliver the goods since, with her most recent form figures of P,5,P making for uninspiring reading. Mark easing, but tough to be confident.

Form: P50P5P

Simply Business⁹⁹

Age: 5| Weight: 11-0| J: Jonathan England| T: S England| OR: 83

7/1

Pulled up when last seen at Stratford in October, and has since left Charlie Longsdon for just £1,000. However, we've witnessed her new trainer pull rabbits out of the hat in the past at this track, and this is a winnable contest.

Form: 8447P

Dolly's Dot¹⁶

Age: 7| Weight: 10-7| J: Alex Chadwick⁽⁷⁾| T: V Thompson| OR: 76

12/1

A mare who deserves more time prior to being totally dismissed, but the suspicion remains that she'll be strongest over fences (in point-to-points/low grade rules handicap chases), so she's probably not one for today.

Form: 334P-86

Bygones For Coins^t⁷¹

Age: 10| Weight: 10-5| J: Alison Clarke⁽⁷⁾| T: Kenny Johnson| OR: 74

16/1

With a career record of 1 from 66, you'd have precious few coins left in the pocket if electing to be a regular follower of this mare. Badly out of sorts since late summer and impossible to recommend.

Form: 60P008

Forecasts

Princess Mononoke (2/1), Toboggan's Gift (9/2), Theatre Act (5/1), Simply Business (7/1), Barely Black (7/1), Russian Royale (8/1), Dolly's Dot (12/1), Bygones For Coins (16/1)

A race which will take very little winning, so the best advice is to stick with the trainer in form. Donald McCain saddled a treble at Kelso on Thursday, and he is doubly represented by Princess Mononoke and TOBOGGAN'S GIFT. The latter named horse is partnered by Will Kennedy and looks the pick of the pair. She ran well at Cartmel in May 2016 when runner up to Tonto's Spirit, and she'll surely be better over hurdles for this trainer than with Ann Duffield, so she's the one for small stakes despite having a lengthy absence to overcome.