18:00 Newcastle

Wednesday 3 October 2018

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

Muckle Spectrum Apprentice Handicap

Off time: 18:00 | Winning time: 1m 27.12s

(14)

Art Echo^p,t⁶⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 9-12| J: Oakley Brown⁽⁷⁾| T: J Mackie| OR: 75| D

13/2

Wolverhampton winner in July (7f), and runner-up off this mark back there since; returns to action after a 65-day absence with a promising young claimer removing a handy 7lb; entitled to be competitive.

Form: 867912

(11)

Lagenda²⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 9-12| J: Faye McManoman⁽³⁾| T: L A Mullaney| OR: 75| D

50/1

Haydock winner in July (1m, good to soft), but a shade below-par of late and remains a seven-race AW maiden; something to prove.

Form: 661980

(5)

Deansgate¹⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 9-11| J: Connor Murtagh| T: Miss J A Camacho| OR: 74| CD

7/1

January C&D winner (off a similar mark); historically has always proved to be fairly reliable at this track; likely to find another winning opportunity at some point in the months ahead, but surprising if that's tonight.

Form: 160306

(8)

Gabrial The Tiger¹⁹

Age: 6| Weight: 9-11| J: Sebastian Woods⁽³⁾| T: R A Fahey| OR: 74| D

50/1

Chester specialist who returns to the AW for the first time since March 2015 (0-5); 5lb higher than when beating Jacob Black by 1¼L at Musselburgh (7f, good to firm) in July.

Form: 887100

(4)

War Department^v⁵^{(ex 6)}

Age: 5| Weight: 9-11| J: Callum Rodriguez| T: K Dalgleish| OR: 68| CD

3/1

Took advantage of an ease in the weights when winning smoothly over C&D on Friday evening (beat Gun Case by ¾L); carries a 6lb penalty as a result, but expect this four-time C&D winner to be on the premises; stable in-form.

Form: 225851

(1)

Inner Circle^p²¹

Age: 4| Weight: 9-10| J: Paula Muir| T: R Fell & S Murray| OR: 73| D

17/2

A career record of 1-23 isn't the most encouraging, but he's fairly unexposed on synthetic surfaces (just the sole start for Richard Hannon); ½L runner-up to Thornaby Nash at Carlisle (1m, heavy) last month.

Form: 933652

(10)

Kentuckyconnection^p⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 9-9| J: Harry Russell⁽⁷⁾| T: B Smart| OR: 72| D

20/1

Hasn't won since his racecourse debut in 2015 (7f Redcar), and has regularly disappointed on the AW since finishing a pleasing second to Constantino in the 2017 Seaton Delaval Handicap (when 92-rated); risky.

Form: 570580

(12)

Sultan Baybars^v¹³

Age: 4| Weight: 9-7| J: C J McGovern| T: D O'Meara| OR: 70| D

16/1

17-race turf maiden who soon weakened over 6f on rain-softened ground at Pontefract last month; 1-4 on the AW for previous handler Roger Varian, with that sole career win coming in a 7f Kempton maiden on debut in September 2016.

Form: 473390

(6)

Tukhoom²⁰

Age: 5| Weight: 9-7| J: Phil Dennis| T: M Herrington| OR: 70

16/1

No win since his Goodwood maiden success (1m) for Marcus Tregoning in June 2016, but back to form with a respectable second to Pursuing Speed over 7f at Doncaster in August; no joy dropped to 6f latest; AW debut.

Form: 0750-20

(7)

Curly Girl²⁷

Age: 4| Weight: 9-4| J: A J Farragher⁽⁷⁾| T: J Feane| OR: 67| D

14/1

Irish raider who was a comfortable winner at Ayr (7f, Class 6, good) in August, and placed under a 6lb penalty at Dundalk just a few days later; possible soft ground excuses latest (Carlisle), and a case of sorts can be made.

Form: 609134

(13)

Gun Case^p⁵

Age: 6| Weight: 9-4| J: Andrew Breslin⁽³⁾| T: A C Whillans| OR: 67| CD

7/1

Newcastle regular (C&D winner off a 4lb lower mark in August); no match for the re-opposing War Department on Friday evening (beaten ¾L), but with a penalty incurred and riders allowances factored in, is 9lb better off tonight; every chance.

Form: 883152

(2)

Naples Bay¹¹

Age: 4| Weight: 9-2| J: Ray Dawson⁽³⁾| T: J & S Quinn| OR: 65| D

16/1

In fine fettle at present, and saw off all bar the strongly supported Catterick specialist Redrosezorro over 7f latest; claimer ridden tonight (helps with the rising handicap mark); could be involved if demonstrating improved form on the AW (0-2).

Form: 183122

(3)

Grey Destiny^p⁵

Age: 8| Weight: 9-0| J: Kieran Schofield⁽³⁾| T: A Brittain| OR: 63| D

14/1

AW regular (4-44); best at Wolverhampton, but also effective at Newcastle. Turned out quickly after finishing an outpaced 3L fifth of 12 to Mudawwan over C&D on Friday Evening (War Department won Division 1 of that race in a faster time).

Form: 052335

Non-Runners

(9)

Amood⁵

Weight: 9-8| Age: 7

T: S G West J: Non Runner

Forecasts

War Department (3/1), Art Echo (13/2), Deansgate (7/1), Gun Case (7/1), Inner Circle (17/2), Grey Destiny (14/1), Curly Girl (14/1), Tukhoom (16/1), Naples Bay (16/1), Sultan Baybars (16/1), Amood (16/1), Kentuckyconnection (20/1), Lagenda (50/1), Gabrial The Tiger (50/1)

A maximum field 7f handicap, and a very tough race to solve. Old foes and course regulars War Department and Gun Case lock horns on revised terms after their clash here on Friday evening. Although the winner was full value (and more) for the winning margin of three-quarters of a length, the runner-up could feasibly extract his revenge tonight (both horses are massively respected). Naples Bay is a possible player if handling the switch to the AW, likewise the Tapeta proven Amood. However, a chance is taken on the Irish raider CURLY GIRL. She was a winner at Ayr in August, but is equally effective on the AW, and has a 7lb claimer booked to ride tonight.