15:20 Newcastle

Friday 30 March 2018

All13:4014:1014:4515:2015:5516:2516:55

Betway Handicap

Off time: 15:21 | Winning time: 2m 38.81s

(2)

Sofia's Rock^h1²¹⁶

Age: 4| Weight: 9-6| J: P J McDonald| T: C & M Johnston| OR: 100| D

10/1

Rock Of Gibraltar gelding who lines up off top-weight for his AW debut wearing a first time hood. Runner up to Danehill Kodiac in a soft ground Class 2 handicap at Newmarket in July before struggling badly in the Melrose at York.

Form: 103020-

(7)

Shabeeb²⁵⁹

Age: 5| Weight: 9-3| J: David Egan⁽³⁾| T: R Varian| OR: 96

7/2

Enjoyed a productive three-year-old campaign winning fast ground 1m2f contests at Sandown and Doncaster before stepping up in grade. Kept strong company early last year, finishing 4+L third to Mount Moriah latest (July 2017). AW debut.

Form: 156/003-

(9)

Stargazer¹⁰

Age: 5| Weight: 9-2| J: K Stott| T: P A Kirby| OR: 95

12/1

Back from a lengthy absence, but posted a striking stable debut (cost 8,000 gns from Sir Michael Stoute) when beaten a neck by American Gigolo over 2m here last week. Up 2lb, but down in trip. Half-brother to Stravagante.

Form: 32135/2

(1)

Al Hamdany²⁵

Age: 4| Weight: 9-2| J: J F Egan| T: M Botti| OR: 96| D

20/1

Solid AW handicapper, but has now raced five times since his last success at Kempton in November (1m4f). Beaten less than 1L by Mount Tahan at Wolverhampton earlier this month (1m4f), but yet to score from a mark this high.

Form: 122-443

(5)

Island Brave¹⁴

Age: 4| Weight: 9-1| J: L Morris| T: H Main| OR: 95| D

7/1

Has absolutely thrived since October 2017, winning four times in six starts seeing his official rating climb by 23lb. Beaten just a neck by Koeman at Lingfield latest (1m4f), he tries Newcastle for the first time with a 5/11 AW record.

Form: 113-112

(3)

Cosmeapolitan³⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 9-0| J: J P Spencer| T: A King| OR: 93| D

6/1

Stepped forward a notch or two on the AW since contesting the competitive Listed Gerry Feilden Hurdle at Newbury in December. Raised 4lb for his cosy ¾L defeat of Kelly's Dino at Kempton last month (1m3f).

Form: 0035-21

(8)

Royal Reserve^p³⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 8-12| J: P Makin| T: D O'Meara| OR: 91| D

20/1

Played second fiddle to a couple of these rivals in his most recent starts (Island Brave and Lexington Law). Inching up the weights for his overall consistency on the AW (4/16), and that's just enough to be off-putting.

Form: 91-7322

(13)

Nicholas T¹⁶⁸

Age: 6| Weight: 8-10| J: P Mulrennan| T: J S Goldie| OR: 89

28/1

His form tailed off a fraction towards the back-end of last season, but his 2L second to Raising Sand in the Shergar Cup Mile at Ascot in August shows his ability. Stamina to prove over this trip, but has run over 2m in bumpers.

Form: 302907-

(4)

Euro Nightmare¹⁷⁴

Age: 4| Weight: 8-10| J: G Lee| T: K Dalgleish| OR: 90

33/1

Successful on three occasions last season (1m1f-1m2f), including on her seasonal reappearance at Musselburgh in May. Likely on a stiff mark nowadays as a result and tries her hand on the AW for the first time.

Form: 541669-

(12)

Snowy Winter^t¹⁴

Age: 4| Weight: 8-10| J: Edward Greatrex| T: A Watson| OR: 90| CD

14/1

Won four times in the early months of the winter season (mainly 1m4f), but now sits a full 30lb higher than back in September; and 18lb higher than when scoring by 1½L over this C&D in October.

Form: 151-337

(11)

Amazing Red¹⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 8-10| J: R Havlin| T: E A L Dunlop| OR: 89| D

7/1

Successful on turf from a 3lb lower mark at Newmarket in August (1m2f), but seemingly just in the grip of the handicapper. However, entirely plausible he'll be sharper for his recent Lingfield reappearance (Island Brave second), so not discounted.

Form: 91924-3

(14)

Lexington Law^p⁵⁰

Age: 5| Weight: 8-10| J: Connor Murtagh⁽⁵⁾| T: A King| OR: 89| CD

7/1

Stablemate of Cosmeapolitan who arrives seeking a hat-trick following his latest C&D success last month. Up 5lb, but that is offset by the booking of a useful 5lb claimer and another horse who has relished the switch from hurdling.

Form: 33391-1

(10)

Eye of The Storm¹⁶⁰

Age: 8| Weight: 8-8| J: David Probert| T: K Dalgleish| OR: 87| D

50/1

Now stablemate of Euro Nightmare and looks to be the second string of that pair. Has won over £100,000 in prize money for Aidan O'Brien and Amanda Perrett, but has limited AW experience and moved on for just 9,000 gns in October 2017.

Form: 046740-

(6)

Velvet Revolution⁴⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 8-8| J: Ryan Tate| T: M Botti| OR: 87| D

20/1

Led close home when beating Cohesion by a short-head at Wolverhampton in early December (1m6f), but beaten twice since over 2m from a 2lb higher mark since. Not raced over this trip since October 2016 (winner at Windsor).

Form: 0121-54

Result Amended

Stargazer - Original Position 1st. Amended Position 2nd.

Island Brave - Original Position 2nd. Amended Position 1st.

Forecasts

Shabeeb (7/2), Cosmeapolitan (6/1), Island Brave (7/1), Amazing Red (7/1), Lexington Law (7/1), Sofia's Rock (10/1), Stargazer (12/1), Snowy Winter (14/1), Al Hamdany (20/1), Royal Reserve (20/1), Velvet Revolution (20/1), Nicholas T (28/1), Euro Nightmare (33/1), Eye of The Storm (50/1)

Alan King has saddled only three Flat runners at Newcastle since May 2016, but he has clearly set his sights on this valuable Class 2 stayers handicap and is doubly represented by February's C&D winner Lexington Law and also Cosmeapolitan. The latter named has Jamie Spencer booked to ride and either of this pair could conceivably plunder this devilishly difficult contest. The thriving Island Brave and Amazing Red are closely handicapped on their recent Lingfield clash, and that is symbolic of the race overall. In terms of a selection we'll chance STARGAZER. He caught the eye over 2m here last week behind a rival who goes for the Queens Cup at Musselburgh on Saturday.

Betway Handicap

Result Amended

Forecasts

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Betway Handicap

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