17:30 Newcastle

Wednesday 3 October 2018

All17:3018:0018:3019:0019:3020:0020:30

RSM Handicap

Off time: 17:31 | Winning time: 3m 35.19s

(6)

Melinoe^p¹⁰³

Age: 4| Weight: 9-11| J: L Morris| T: Sir Mark Prescott| OR: 86

4/1

Drops in grade having tackled Listed and Group contests during the month of June, but sits high in the weights for what she's actually achieved; first AW start since May 2017 for a trainer who is 3-15 (20%) at Newcastle in 2018.

Form: 23-2358

(3)

Tommy Docc⁴⁸

Age: 6| Weight: 9-7| J: Connor Beasley| T: K Dalgleish| OR: 82

12/1

2015 Queens Vase (Royal Ascot) runner-up who has had a quiet spell of racing since finishing 13th of 20 to the ill-fated Antiquarium in the 2016 Northumberland Plate; 6l runner-up at Beverley (2m, good to firm) latest.

Form: 500/6-62

(5)

Al Kout²⁶

Age: 4| Weight: 9-6| J: B A Curtis| T: H Main| OR: 81

2/1

Runner-up off a 4lb lower mark here in June (1m4f), and filled the same spot behind the progressive Garbanzo at Haydock (1m6f, soft) latest; unexposed at 2m; half-brother to 2m4f hurdle winner Three Star General.

Form: 9-82632

(7)

On Fire^p,h⁹⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 9-6| J: D Tudhope| T: J D Bethell| OR: 81| C| D

4/1

No issues with track or trip (neck runner-up to Waiting For Richie over C&D on his last Tapeta start in September 2017); 3lb higher than when a solid 1¼L second to Master Archer at Chester (2m, good to firm) in June; off since.

Form: 20-8152

(9)

Archippos¹²

Age: 5| Weight: 9-5| J: A Mullen| T: P A Kirby| OR: 80

33/1

33/1 and held up (never threatened) when finishing sixth of seven to Altra Vita (stablemate of Melinoe) over C&D last month; yet to win beyond 1m2f.

Form: 139096

(2)

Cry Wolf^p¹⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 9-3| J: S J Cummins⁽⁷⁾| T: Alexandra Dunn| OR: 78| D

9/1

Stronger on the AW than on turf (has never run at Newcastle previously); 6lb higher than when recording back-to-back Chelmsford wins (1m6f-2m), but has also acquitted himself well on turf in a Cl 2 1m6f Bath handicap (runner-up); rider 1-1 aboard.

Form: 433112

(8)

Mambo Dancer¹²

Age: 4| Weight: 9-0| J: J Fanning| T: C & M Johnston| OR: 75| CD

10/1

C&D winner in January (Class 5), but plenty higher in the weights now with a couple of further 2m AW victories recorded; running okay at present, so couldn't be totally dismissed based on his C&D second to Sugarloaf Mountain (penultimate start).

Form: 605625

(10)

Loud And Clear⁹

Age: 7| Weight: 8-9| J: Phil Dennis⁽³⁾| T: J S Goldie| OR: 70| D

80/1

Dual bumper winner for Iain Jardine (in 2016), but 0-3 for Jim Goldie on the Flat; possible that soft ground at Hamilton (1m4f) hasn't suited the last twice, but slow to ease in the weights and doesn't appear to be a likely solution here.

Form: 5-859

(1)

Icario^h²⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 8-9| J: S A Gray| T: Stef Keniry| OR: 70| D

12/1

127-rated hurdler who was last in action over fences at Wexford in September (for Gordon Elliott); sold for £16,000 thereafter and makes his first Flat start since his days in France (2016); market should provide the required clues.

Form: 6451/

(4)

Tetradrachm¹²

Age: 5| Weight: 8-6| J: Cam Hardie| T: M E Sowersby| OR: 67

150/1

125/1 when finishing last of seven to Altra Vita (stablemate of Melinoe) over C&D last month; should strip fitter for that outing, that being his first run since November 2017 (when trained by David Simcock); unlikely.

Form: 66993-7

Forecasts

Al Kout (2/1), On Fire (4/1), Melinoe (4/1), Cry Wolf (9/1), Mambo Dancer (10/1), Icario (12/1), Tommy Docc (12/1), Archippos (33/1), Loud And Clear (80/1), Tetradrachm (150/1)

A tight race for the stayers with the in-form Cry Wolf a possible contender on his first start at Newcastle, and the trip unexposed Al Kout also worth considering for Heather Main. Furthermore, On Fire makes his first start since June, and is feasibly a fraction high in the weights, but is always worthy of respect at this track. However, the horse to be most wary of is the Stef Keniry-trained ICARIO. A useful hurdler for previous trainer Gordon Elliott, he's very lightly-raced on the Flat (not since his French days with H-A Pantall), but it'll come as no surprise if he's the most popular option in the market for handicap debut.