Smarkets Novices' Handicap Hurdle

Off time: 16:37 | Winning time: 5m 23.20s

Herewego Herewego¹⁰

Age: 7| Weight: 12-0| J: B J Geraghty| T: A King| OR: 122

5/2

Has been showing potential in all four starts, breaking his duck at the third attempt at Warwick (2m, good) in October. Went well under penalty when stepped up to 2m4½f at Market Rasen (soft) last time and very much of interest on handicap debut.

Form: 42/12

Snapdragon Fire¹⁸

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: R T Dunne| T: T Lacey| OR: 120| BF

4/1

Yet to get off the mark, but not far away from doing so at Newcastle (2m4½f, soft) in December and then on his handicap debut at Hereford (2m, soft) last time. 7lb rise for that last run looks a little harsh and this will be tougher.

Form: 240232

Trust The Man^t⁸³

Age: 5| Weight: 11-7| J: Dave Crosse| T: A West| OR: 115

10/1

0-17 under both codes, though has made the frame in all three starts over hurdles. Mark looks reasonably fair for handicap debut here and shouldn't mind the ground, but likely to need some improvement.

Form: 323

Broken Quest^t⁷^{(ex 7)}

Age: 6| Weight: 11-6| J: Sean Houlihan⁽⁷⁾| T: David Dennis| OR: 107| D

13/8

Shrugged off a moderate start to his hurdling career when scoring at Huntingdon (2m3½f, soft) and then adding an easy 15L win at Kempton (2m5f) from a 7lb higher mark last week. Back for more under a penalty here and 7lb now claimed. Leading player.

Form: 1-47P11

The Sweeney²⁹

Age: 6| Weight: 11-5| J: G Sheehan| T: Miss E C Lavelle| OR: 113

7/1

Best effort so far was over a similar trip at Chepstow in novices' company in December. Not a bad sighter on handicap debut at Ludlow (3m, soft) last time. Dropped 1lb here and potential for improvement, so not ruled out.

Form: 3-6374

Roll Of The Dice²⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 10-13| J: J E Moore| T: G & J Moore| OR: 107

20/1

Showed some ability in a bumper and in his early runs over hurdles without threatening to win any of them. Badly out of sorts in his last two starts, including on handicap debut from 5lb higher and needs a big step up on that form.

Form: 450705

Forecasts

Broken Quest (13/8), Herewego Herewego (5/2), Snapdragon Fire (4/1), The Sweeney (7/1), Trust The Man (10/1), Roll Of The Dice (20/1)

Herewego Herewego has made a bright enough start to his career and with conditions and trip just about right for now, he is very interesting on his handicap debut and is entitled to plenty of respect. BROKEN QUEST did not face anything of his ability at Kempton last time, but the way he dispatched his field there was nonetheless impressive and with his 7lb rise negated by his claimer, he could be good enough to follow-up. The Sweeney is another of interest after a decent first handicap run and is not ruled out.