16:50 Ayr

Saturday 23 June 2018

All13:4514:2014:5515:3016:1016:5017:25

Sunsport Handicap (For The Winton Cup)

  • 4YO plus  |   Class 2  |   1m 5f 26y  |   Good (Good to Firm in places)  |   13 Runners  |   Turf  |   Weighed In
  • Off time: 16:51  |   Winning time: 2m 47.74s
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Cloth number
Odds
Horse A-Z
Show odds
1
(4)
Horse silk
My Reward12
Age: 6|  Weight: 9-10| J: D Allan| T: T D Easterby| OR:  103| D
14/1
2017 Northumberland Plate fifth who bounced back from a tame effort in the Chester Cup to make all in a small field 1m4f handicap at Pontefract earlier this month (beat today's rival Final); up 3lb and will find it harder to dictate here.
2
(7)
Horse silk
Brandon Castlet56
Age: 6|  Weight: 9-6| J: J P Sullivan| T: A Watson| OR:  99| BF| CD
25/1
Not seen since late April when a disappointing fourth of six at Ripon (11/8f); has previous C&D winning form, but best suited by some cut in the ground and opposed on that score today.
3
(3)
Horse silk
Speedo Boy42
Age: 4|  Weight: 9-2| J: Josephine Gordon| T: Ian Williams| OR:  95
6/1
Showed a fair level of Flat form last year after winning a 1m1f Listed contest at Fontainebleau (very soft) in March 2017 and has had a winter over hurdles (Huntingdon winner); holds a Northumberland Plate entry.
4
(12)
Horse silk
Euchen Glen28
Age: 5|  Weight: 9-1| J: P Mulrennan| T: J S Goldie| OR:  94| CD
7/2
Finished a close-up third to The Grand Visir over 2m at Haydock last month (good), and returns to his favoured course with track form figures reading; 2111.
5
(2)
Horse silk
Star Of The East7
Age: 4|  Weight: 9-0| J: J F Egan| T: C & M Johnston| OR:  93| D
5/1
Wears his heart on his sleeve and is standing up well to a busy spell of racing; twice a Chester winner (1m4.5f-1m5.5f), he proved ultra-competitive off this mark still when beaten just under 1L in York's Queen Mother's Cup last weekend.
6
(8)
Horse silk
Eye of The Storm14
Age: 8|  Weight: 9-0| J: P Makin| T: K Dalgleish| OR:  93
20/1
Hasn't won since way back in July 2015 (2m Listed, Sandown), but did go close off a 3lb lower mark at Ripon in April when beaten a head by stablemate Mirsaale.
7
(9)
Horse silk
Dance Kingp,t14
Age: 8|  Weight: 8-12| J: Cam Hardie| T: T D Easterby| OR:  91
25/1
Sprung a 16/1 surprise over the extended 1m4f trip at Musselburgh a fortnight ago (Eye Of The Storm behind), but things panned out well for him there and whether or not he can repeat that form from a 4lb higher mark is debatable.
8
(10)
Horse silk
Final12
Age: 6|  Weight: 8-11| J: Jason Hart| T: C & M Johnston| OR:  90
22/1
Stablemate of Star Of The East. Found wanting throughout the entire 2017 turf season after winning on the AW at Newcastle in March; beaten by front-runner My Reward on reappearance at Pontefract recently (1m4f); stamina doubts.
9
(11)
Horse silk
Kelly's Dinop16
Age: 5|  Weight: 8-11| J: C Lee(3)| T: K R Burke| OR:  90
7/1
Notched a second Carlisle success when ridden out to score by 3L in a Class 4 handicap earlier this month (1m3f+); up 6lb, and in trip/grade so a career best effort is required.
10
(13)
Horse silk
Koeman28
Age: 4|  Weight: 8-9| J: David Egan| T: M R Channon| OR:  88
14/1
No disgrace in chasing home Count Calabash at Ascot on his penultimate start (Speedo Boy fourth), and ran to a similar level in a stronger race over further (1m6f) at Goodwood next time; better strike-rate on the AW.
11
(1)
Horse silk
New Society10
Age: 4|  Weight: 8-7| J: P J McDonald| T: J D Bethell| OR:  86| BF
11/1
Twice a winner in three starts since wind surgery (1m4f), but rising quickly in the weights as a result; beaten (third) in a Class 3 handicap at Haydock latest and this is a further step up.
12
(6)
Horse silk
Northwest Frontierb24
Age: 4|  Weight: 8-6| J: Barry McHugh| T: R A Fahey| OR:  85
9/2
Improved with each start in 2018 and arrives seeking the hat-trick following back-to-back 2m wins (Ripon and Nottingham); 6lb higher and this drop back in trip is not ideal, but has his optimum ground conditions (fast).
13
(5)
Horse silk
Nietzsche31
Age: 5|  Weight: 8-2| J: Kieran Schofield(7)| T: B Ellison| OR:  81| CD
28/1
Mixes hurdling with Flat racing with more of a focus on the former than the latter; won off this mark over C&D back in September 2016 (Class 3).

Forecasts

Euchen Glen (7/2), Northwest Frontier (9/2), Star Of The East (5/1), Speedo Boy (6/1), Kelly's Dino (7/1), New Society (11/1), Koeman (14/1), My Reward (14/1), Eye of The Storm (20/1), Final (22/1), Dance King (25/1), Brandon Castle (25/1), Nietzsche (28/1)

Verdict

By far the toughest race on the card for punters to solve, so you'd be wanting to have more than one selection in an attempt to find the winner. However, we'll stick to the 1m4f Ascot formline featuring Count Calabash in which Koeman (second) finished two places and one length in front of the Ian Williams-trained SPEEDO BOY. The selection was having his first start since November (hurdles) so can be expected to improve. Interestingly, he holds a Northumberland Plate entry (next weekend) and his trainer demonstrated his prowess with Flat stayers landing the consolation race the Northumberland Vase (2017) with a similar dual-purpose type; the sadly ill-fated London Prize.
  1. Speedo Boy
  2. Euchen Glen
  3. Northwest Frontier

Prize Money

1st: £25,876.002nd: £7,700.003rd: £3,848.004th: £1,924.00

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