16:45 Laytown

Thursday 6 September 2018

All15:4516:1516:4517:1517:4518:15

O'Neills Sports 100 Years Centenary (Q.R.) Handicap (50-80)

Off time: 16:47 | Winning time: 1m 22.14s

(10)

Ishebayorgrey²⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 12-4| J: R Deegan⁽⁵⁾| T: P Martin| OR: 77| BF| D

7/1

Finished runner-up from a 2lb higher mark over 7f at Leopardstown (good) in May, and has performed to a broadly similar level since; has a fair record on the AW (6-28), so is of obvious interest with a talented 5lb claimer booked.

Form: 134256

(1)

St Gallen^t¹⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 12-4| J: Mr D O'Connor| T: J J Murphy| OR: 77

8/1

Both of his career wins have come at 1m or beyond, and he's not raced over 7f since his debut at Dundalk in December 2015; 7lb above his last winning mark.

Form: 365519

(3)

Important Message¹¹⁴

Age: 6| Weight: 12-3| J: Mr M J O'Hare⁽³⁾| T: D Hogan| OR: 76

33/1

93-rated handicapper for Godolphin and Saeed Bin Suroor in 2016, but sold cheaply for £2,500 in November 2017; struggled in four starts in Ireland for James McAuley, but interesting to see what Denis Hogan can make of a once useful horse.

Form: 397/640

(6)

Acrux¹¹

Age: 5| Weight: 12-2| J: Mr P W Mullins| T: J A Osborne| OR: 75| D

10/1

Not the most straightforward once upon a time (difficult to win with), but has turned over a new leaf in 2018, winning four races (6f-1m); AW (Tapeta) proven; claimed for £15,000 after finishing third to Withernsea over 7½f at Beverley latest.

Form: 151233

(5)

Florencio²⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 12-2| J: Ms L O'Neill⁽³⁾| T: J A Osborne| OR: 75| D

10/11

Much better on the AW (6-29) than on turf (1-16); won a 7f claimer for Roger Fell at Newcastle in June before finishing second to subsequent winner Breanski in the Class 3 Beeswing Handicap; obvious player on debut for Jamie Osborne.

Form: 612125

(9)

Red Avenger²⁰

Age: 8| Weight: 12-1| J: Mr J J King⁽³⁾| T: D English| OR: 74| D

20/1

The pick of his better efforts over the past 12 months or so have largely come on the AW at Dundalk. However, he was a narrow winner over this trip on turf at The Curragh in July (good to firm); impossible to rule out of contention.

Form: 051808

(7)

Markhan^t¹⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 12-0| J: Mr J J Codd| T: G Elliott| OR: 73

8/1

Decisive winner of a Class 5 handicap at Ayr (1m, good) last month, but struggled on slower ground after a tardy start (off 7lb higher) at Carlisle since; 0-5 on the AW (Dundalk), but with fair placed form over 1m.

Form: 335317

(2)

Fivehundredmiles³³

Age: 5| Weight: 11-11| J: Mr F Maguire⁽³⁾| T: R J Osborne| OR: 70

25/1

Placed in a Bellewstown claimer (1m) in July, but has produced a couple of lesser efforts in fairly moderate Hamilton handicaps (1m½f-1m1f) since; evidently not at the same level as when trained in the UAE by Satish Seemar.

Form: 874365

(4)

Stamp Of Authority^t²⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 11-6| J: Mr D G Lavery⁽³⁾| T: T G McCourt| OR: 65| D

16/1

Locally trained 6yo who has adopted front-running tactics to win two of his last four starts on turf (7f-1m); produced a tame effort latest and is 0-17 on the AW, but this track could feasibly suit his run style.

Form: 021819

(8)

Military Hill¹⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 10-13| J: Mr T Hamilton⁽⁵⁾| T: A McGuinness| OR: 58

12/1

Finished 6L fourth on this card in 2017 (Hibernia Steel race), and arrives in decent shape after a couple of recent 1m2f claiming wins at Ballinrobe. However, this is a much deeper contest and the 7f trip is far from ideal.

Form: 535115

Non-Runners

Seanie⁶

Weight: 10-11| Age: 9

T: K Thornton J: Reserve 1

Forecasts

Florencio (10/11), Ishebayorgrey (7/1), Seanie (7/1), Markhan (8/1), St Gallen (8/1), Acrux (10/1), Military Hill (12/1), Stamp Of Authority (16/1), Red Avenger (20/1), Fivehundredmiles (25/1), Important Message (33/1)

One of the tougher races on the card with a number of the runners of interest. The Osborne/Melbourne 10 partnership are represented by AW regulars Acrux and Florencio. A strong preference is for the latter named of that duo based upon his rock-solid Newcastle Beeswing second to Breanski, with reservations about the willingness of the former still lurking in the back of the mind despite his four wins in 2018. Markhan shouldn't be dismissed despite flopping on soft ground (slowly away) latest, and Red Avenger should remain competitive. However, ISHEBAYORGREY has broadly held his form this season and looks to be worth chancing under a talented 5lb claimer.