Hugos Restaurant Barbados Handicap Chase

Off time: 14:15 | Winning time: 5m 1.27s

Rothman^p,t²¹

Age: 8| Weight: 11-12| J: Tom Cannon| T: C Gordon| OR: 110| C

13/8

Course winner back in August 2015 (2m5f soft) but he's had plenty of goes since and was beaten 8L by Bramble Brook in a three runner C&D affair last month. Mark easing, but win record doesn't inspire utmost confidence.

Form: 228225

Bredon Hill Lad^p,t⁴³

Age: 11| Weight: 11-12| J: Lucy Gardner⁽³⁾| T: Mrs S Gardner| OR: 110| CD

5/1

Effective between 2m and 2m4f with cut, but sits high in the weights for his November Ffos Las (2m), and December C&D successes. Races prominently and likely to vie for the lead with both Rothman and Clondaw Westie.

Form: F14-11P

Mr Muddle^v1⁴⁶

Age: 11| Weight: 11-11| J: J E Moore| T: G & J Moore| OR: 109| D

10/1

Veteran who generally struggles to win, hence the application of the visor. Beaten 5¾L by Bredon Hill Lad over C&D in March 2017 (good), and much better off at the weights here with stronger handling. Mark easing, but out of sorts lately.

Form: 253-255

Le Curieux⁴¹

Age: 6| Weight: 11-10| J: Brendan Powell| T: B G Powell| OR: 108

14/1

Hurdles winner in France as a juvenile (2m1f soft) but modest in Ireland for John Kiely, and far from convincing since switched to England. Much more leniently treated now, so worth a market check in a poor heat.

Form: 050P65

Clondaw Westie^p,t⁹

Age: 7| Weight: 11-5| J: David Bass| T: Mrs L Hill| OR: 103

6/4

Made a winning rules chasing debut at Leicester last month (2m4f soft) when an 8L scorer from Dylanseoghan. Given a 9lb rise thereafter, and hard to say how he'd have fared next time at Wincanton (unseated rider). Of interest.

Form: 75-381U

Forecasts

Clondaw Westie (6/4), Rothman (13/8), Bredon Hill Lad (5/1), Mr Muddle (10/1), Le Curieux (14/1)

A small field affair, but plenty of previous Fontwell form on offer with the likes of ROTHMAN, Bredon Hill Lad and Mr Muddle in the line up. There should be no shortage of early pace in the race, and that's a slight concern for the less experienced chaser Clondaw Westie. He'd probably have been the pick of this quintet away from the twists and turns of this particular track, but rhythm is all important here, and whilst his overall win record doesn't inspire the utmost confidence, Chris Gordon's horse just gets the narrow verdict.