17:15 Kelso

Wednesday 9 May 2018

All14:0014:3515:1015:4516:1516:4517:15

Andersons Butchers & Lyntoun Taxis East Lothian Standard Open NH Flat Race

Off time: 17:17 | Winning time: 3m 45.70s

Amarone Gentleman^t¹²

Age: 6| Weight: 11-2| J: Mr R Wilson⁽⁷⁾| T: S Corbett

50/1

Not figured with any degree of prominence in either racecourse appearance to date, despite already having had wind surgery. Makes his third start in a bumper, but his first on drying ground.

Form: 36-

Darry Desbois⁸⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 11-2| J: Ross Chapman⁽³⁾| T: M Todhunter

66/1

A half-brother to winning hurdler/chaser Raptor (2m1f-2m4f). Tailed off on debut in a Catterick bumper in February; 2m good to soft.

Form: 0-

Enzo Barbieri²⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 11-2| J: B S Hughes| T: Miss P Robson

7/2

Milan gelding who is a half-brother to the 3m chase/point winner Enter Paradise. His dam Cappamore Girl was herself a Flat/bumper winner, so this ex Irish pointer (for Liz Doyle) rates as a likely type for locally based connections.

Form: 32-

Nearly There

Age: 5| Weight: 11-2| J: Rachel McDonald⁽⁷⁾| T: W Storey

50/1

Unraced third foal by Virtual out of an unraced dam (Nicoise) who was a sister to the 5f-6f winner Spearit. Stable 1 from 72 (1.4%) in bumpers since 1988.

Form:

Rocket Man Rodney²⁰⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 11-2| J: Thomas Dowson⁽³⁾| T: Mrs H O Graham

16/1

Tailed off on debut at Hexham in September 2017 (sixth) behind the useful winning hurdler Senor Lombardy. Half-brother to a 2m4f winning chaser (Mor Brook), so perfectly logical that bumpers won't bring out the best of his abilities.

Form: 6-

Slade Storm³³⁹

Age: 5| Weight: 11-2| J: Steven Fox⁽⁵⁾| T: A C Whillans

14/1

September Storm gelding with placed form in Irish point-to-points. Makes his rules/stable debut at a realistic level, and is a brother to the Jefferson trained bumper winner Storm Forecast. Worthy of market monitoring.

Form: 73-

The Boo Box

Age: 5| Weight: 11-2| J: Callum Whillans⁽³⁾| T: D W Whillans

16/1

Unraced fifth foal by Scorpion out of an unraced dam (High Court Action). Cost €6,500 as a foal, and is a half-brother to the point-to-point winner Canurest.

Form:

Akarita Lights²⁸

Age: 4| Weight: 10-12| J: C R King| T: J & S Quinn

5/4

Half-brother to six winners including the Flat speedster Little Lady Katie (6f-1m). Finished runner up on both career starts so far, including on Tapeta on debut when beaten 3L by Bournville. Sharp track/quick ground should allay any stamina doubts.

Form: 22-

Big Bad Dog⁵⁰

Age: 4| Weight: 10-12| J: Finian O'Toole⁽³⁾| T: Micky Hammond

40/1

Big Bad Bob gelding who was a well beaten fifth of six on debut at Wetherby in March (2m heavy). Tries quicker ground for his second career start, but needs to have improved out of all recognition in order to play a hand.

Form: 5-

Captain Kurt

Age: 4| Weight: 10-12| J: R D Day⁽³⁾| T: Mrs J Stephen

16/1

Unraced fourth foal by Distant Peak out of an unraced, but well-related dam (Choral Singer). His pedigree is more akin to a future Flat racing career (AW) than a jumps career.

Form:

Cellar Vie

Age: 4| Weight: 10-12| J: C O'Farrell| T: J Ewart

9/1

Unraced ninth foal by Tikkanen out of Branceilles. Half-brother to a number of jumps winners including Sa Suffit, Saviero and Plus Jamais. Trainer 5/23 (22%; +£31.20) in bumpers during the previous jumps campaign.

Form:

Roo Roo²⁴

Age: 4| Weight: 10-12| J: Henry Brooke| T: I Jardine

8/1

Court Cave gelding who cost £25,000 as a three-year-old and is a half-brother to the bumper winner Shuil Aris. Beaten just under 4L (fifth) on debut in a Newcastle AW bumper last month.

Form: 5-

Non-Runners

Bally Conor

Weight: 11-2| Age: 5

T: Ruth Jefferson J: Jamie Hamilton

Harry The Potter

Weight: 11-2| Age: 5

T: C Grant J: Non Runner

Forecasts

Akarita Lights (5/4), Enzo Barbieri (7/2), Bally Conor (7/1), Roo Roo (8/1), Cellar Vie (9/1), Slade Storm (14/1), Rocket Man Rodney (16/1), The Boo Box (16/1), Captain Kurt (16/1), Harry The Potter (16/1), Big Bad Dog (40/1), Nearly There (50/1), Amarone Gentleman (50/1), Darry Desbois (66/1)

Not masses of available form with which to make an informed judgement. Both Akarita Lights and Roo Roo have shown some promise on Tapeta at Newcastle and represent respected trainers, but the former in particular might just be a little light in the stamina department. Bally Conor is an interesting newcomer for an in-form trainer (Ruth Jefferson), as is the noteworthy and well-related James Ewart trained Cellar Vie. However, in seeking some value, we'll side with the point-to-point placed rules debutante ENZO BARBIERI. Pauline Robson's last two runners (Castletown and Martiloo) have been winners, and she's 1 from 4 (25%) in bumpers over the past five years.