15:50 Beverley

Tuesday 31 July 2018

All14:0514:4015:1515:5016:2016:5517:3018:00

Happy Retirement And Thank You Maureen Allport Handicap

Off time: 15:51 | Winning time: 1m 4.78s

(3)

Signore Piccolo^h²⁰

Age: 7| Weight: 9-10| J: S H James| T: D Loughnane| OR: 75| D

9/4

Running respectably of late. Handicapper has dropped him a few pounds and he finds himself on a fair mark. Should go well if making the most of his good draw.

Form: 03-5446

(1)

Elysian Flyer¹¹

Age: 6| Weight: 9-10| J: G Lee| T: P T Midgley| OR: 75| D

8/1

Good effort to be second on soft ground on seasonal reappearance at Ripon, but has failed to build on that. Interesting back to that mark and certainly so if the ground does not dry up too much. Positive draw and jockey booking.

Form: 540-257

(9)

Scuzeme¹⁵⁸

Age: 4| Weight: 9-9| J: K Stott| T: T D Barron| OR: 74| D

25/1

Lightly-raced gelding who returned from a break to finish a fair second of five at Wolverhampton in February. Has another absence and wide draw to overcome so not difficult to oppose.

Form: 12677-2

(4)

Jacob's Pillow^p²⁴

Age: 7| Weight: 9-5| J: Jason Hart| T: Rebecca Bastiman| OR: 70| CD

12/1

Winner on heavy going at Musselburgh in March, but has struggled on lively ground on his last three outings. Has dropped to a lenient mark and a revival is entirely possible if there is cut in the ground.

Form: 130606

(12)

Gamesome¹⁹

Age: 7| Weight: 9-5| J: D C Costello| T: P T Midgley| OR: 70

20/1

Good efforts on two of his last three starts and can run off the same rating. Poor strike rate of 1-38, however, and has widest draw of all. Stable won this last year and looks to have a stronger chance with Elysian Flyer.

Form: 8-88263

(6)

Musharrif²

Age: 6| Weight: 9-4| J: G C O'Neill⁽⁵⁾| T: D Carroll| OR: 69| BF| CD

9/4

Good efforts to be placed on last three outings, two of them over this C&D. Runs off the same mark so no reason why he will not produce another bold show.

Form: 624323

(7)

Lexington Place⁷

Age: 8| Weight: 9-1| J: J Garritty| T: Mrs R Carr| OR: 66| D

11/1

Scored at Ayr earlier this month and ran well to be third at Nottingham off 3lb higher. Seems versatile ground-wise, so every chance he can get involved again.

Form: 445313

(8)

Grandad's World^p¹¹

Age: 6| Weight: 8-7| J: Barry McHugh| T: R A Fahey| OR: 58| D

8/1

Has not won since April, 2015. Continues to fall down the handicap and will probably pop up at some stage, but best recent effort was on faster ground.

Form: 040635

(2)

Minty Jones^v²⁹

Age: 9| Weight: 8-5| J: Phil Dennis⁽³⁾| T: M Mullineaux| OR: 45| CD

66/1

Just two wins in 66 attempts and was only fifth of six in first-time cheekpieces at Hamilton on latest run. Has won over C&D in a visor and that is the choice of headgear this time. Well drawn.

Form: 55-5655

(5)

Moonlit Sands²⁰

Age: 3| Weight: 8-4| J: Kieran Schofield⁽⁷⁾| T: B Ellison| OR: 59| CD

8/1

Successful in a seller over C&D in May and almost performed an encore when just touched off in a handicap last month. Has to enter calculations off this mark, but might prefer faster ground

Form: 591423

Non-Runners

(10)

Bosham⁶

Weight: 9-8| Age: 8

T: M & D Easterby J: Harrison Shaw

(11)

Mininggold¹²

Weight: 8-11| Age: 5

T: M Dods J: Paula Muir

Forecasts

Signore Piccolo (9/4), Musharrif (9/4), Elysian Flyer (8/1), Moonlit Sands (8/1), Grandad's World (8/1), Bosham (8/1), Mininggold (10/1), Lexington Place (11/1), Jacob's Pillow (12/1), Gamesome (20/1), Scuzeme (25/1), Minty Jones (66/1)

Moonlit Sands seems to thrive over C&D and should go close again if the going dries up, but the draw is crucial over 5f at this venue and it may pay to concentrate on those in low stalls. Minty Jones is interesting, but his poor strike rate is offputting, so the short list is headed by Signore Piccolo, Jacob's Pillow and ELYSIAN FLYER. The selection, who represents last year's winning stable, has plenty going for him if the ground remains on the easy side and can bounce back to form off a fair mark. Musharrif and Lexington Place are others to consider.