20:45 Chelmsford City

Thursday 20 September 2018

All17:4518:1518:4519:1519:4520:1520:4521:15

Pearl Land Drainage Handicap (Div 1)

Off time: 20:47 | Winning time: 2m 4.54s

(11)

Henry Croft¹⁸

Age: 5| Weight: 9-10| J: Tom Marquand| T: A W Carroll| OR: 57

9/2

13-race maiden who bounced back under a positive ride at Brighton off 5lb higher. His mark has dropped 25lb since his best AW run in 2016 and hard to dismiss.

Form: 79-8852

(10)

Cat Royale^p¹⁹

Age: 5| Weight: 9-7| J: Danny Brock| T: J Butler| OR: 54| D

10/1

Had the run of the race when dictating a steady pace to beat a poor lot at Lingfield. The handicapper was equally unimpressed and he has had difficulty backing up big efforts in the past.

Form: 244351

(13)

Katabatika^b¹⁶

Age: 4| Weight: 9-7| J: Jason Watson⁽³⁾| T: H Morrison| OR: 54

7/1

Sole success came off this mark at Kempton (1m4f) almost a year ago. Has regressed with each run following a layoff and blinkers tried this time.

Form: 537-566

(16)

Midas Maggie⁷⁸

Age: 3| Weight: 9-5| J: Callum Shepherd| T: C Hills| OR: 57

50/1

Has finished last and well adrift on both handicap starts. Drops further in the weights but difficult to fancy at present.

Form: 659-78

(5)

North Bay Sunrise^p²⁷

Age: 3| Weight: 9-4| J: M Harley| T: E F Vaughan| OR: 56

10/1

Well held on three handicap starts including when blinkered last time. Worth a try at this longer trip given the lack of response to pressure over shorter.

Form: 30-4756

(12)

Murhib¹⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 9-3| J: J F Egan| T: Mrs L Richards| OR: 50

14/1

Gelded son of Sea The Stars who cost 550,000 gns as yearling but showed little in three starts in France in 2016. Finished down the field on comeback run and best watched for now.

Form: 358/0

(2)

Galloping Hogan¹²

Age: 3| Weight: 9-2| J: L Morris| T: S Kirk| OR: 54

8/1

A winner over a mile (good to soft) at Leicester last October. Made first favourable impression since when fourth 12 days ago but he remains difficult to catch right..

Form: 660794

(3)

Spritzig³³

Age: 3| Weight: 9-2| J: George Wood| T: C F Wall| OR: 54

20/1

Beaten a long way in three maidens. Could be a different story now handicapping, but hard to build a case on what she has shown.

Form: 00-7

(7)

La Mernancia¹⁹

Age: 3| Weight: 9-1| J: Nicola Currie⁽³⁾| T: J A Osborne| OR: 53

12/1

Has run to a similar level on her last four starts but one that suggests she is not good enough to be a threat here.

Form: 5-76490

(9)

Ronni Layne^p²¹

Age: 4| Weight: 9-1| J: J Quinn| T: L Allan| OR: 48

20/1

26-race maiden went close in a similarly poor race here on penultimate start but had her limitations exposed again three weeks ago.

Form: 603420

(6)

Molten Lava³⁰

Age: 6| Weight: 8-13| J: R Havlin| T: S Gollings| OR: 46

8/1

Back to back turf winner for Paul Cole in 2015. Gave connections a glimmer of hope on penultimate start but he was back to his prior modest level when last seen. His AW exploits are unconvincing so he has a lot to prove.

Form: 690-620

(8)

Gift From God^t³⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 8-12| J: Aled Beech⁽⁷⁾| T: Hugo Froud| OR: 45

6/1

15-race maiden has not been beaten far on last two runs over C&D following a break. Would have finished a lot closer in similar company last month but for hanging badly right.

Form: 0/5-0434

(15)

Harvest Ranger^p³⁰

Age: 4| Weight: 8-12| J: Alistair Rawlinson| T: M Appleby| OR: 45

20/1

Best recent run came here in February when shaping as though he needed this sort of trip. Will be better for last month's comeback and worth considering in a race as bad as this.

Form: 568-665

(14)

Star Girl¹⁵

Age: 3| Weight: 8-11| J: N Mackay| T: P D Evans| OR: 49

33/1

Showed a bit more on handicap debut when noted making steady headway from off the pace. Tackles an extra 3f here in mediocre company so one to note if supported.

Form: 7086

(4)

Still Got It¹⁹

Age: 3| Weight: 8-8| J: Liam Jones| T: D M Loughnane| OR: 46

25/1

11-race maiden who has made the frame just once and looks one paced. Hard to fancy even at this very modest level.

Form: 08-6567

(1)

Hidden Dream^p²¹

Age: 3| Weight: 8-7| J: Rhiain Ingram⁽⁵⁾| T: Mrs C A Dunnett| OR: 45

12/1

Much improved on last two starts since tackling longer trips. Will not be far away again but further progress required in order to win.

Form: 875634

Forecasts

Henry Croft (9/2), Gift From God (6/1), Katabatika (7/1), Molten Lava (8/1), Galloping Hogan (8/1), Cat Royale (10/1), North Bay Sunrise (10/1), La Mernancia (12/1), Hidden Dream (12/1), Murhib (14/1), Spritzig (20/1), Harvest Ranger (20/1), Ronni Layne (20/1), Still Got It (25/1), Star Girl (33/1), Midas Maggie (50/1)

Harvest Ranger and Star Girl are relatively unexposed and have shown enough to warrant consideration if there is support indicating improvement is expected. Cat Royale, Katabatika and Galloping Hogan have winning form that earns them respect, but the vote goes to HENRY CROFT who returned to form last time, looks well-handicapped and represents a stable in good form.