17:15 Newcastle

Friday 30 November 2018

All17:1517:4518:1518:4519:1519:4520:1520:45

sunracing.co.uk Handicap

Off time: 17:15 | Winning time: 1m 27.21s

(9)

Insurplus²³

Age: 5| Weight: 9-7| J: P J McDonald| T: J S Goldie| OR: 65| CD

4/1

C&D winner off a 2lb lower mark in November 2017; back from a six month absence with a 6L second to all the way winner Young John here 23 days ago.

Form: 1-45062

(2)

Gun Case^p¹⁴

Age: 6| Weight: 9-7| J: D C Costello| T: A C Whillans| OR: 65| CD

10/1

Misfiring a fraction of late but has dropped a couple of pounds in the handicap since finishing ¾L second to War Department over C&D in September; never confidently dismissed at this track.

Form: 152479

(12)

Ubla^p¹⁰

Age: 5| Weight: 9-6| J: Jason Hart| T: Miss Gay Kelleway| OR: 64| D

17/2

4-29 on the AW; most recent win came on good to soft ground at Yarmouth (7f) in October; AW mark 8lb higher than on turf; first start at Newcastle.

Form: 001056

(10)

Kingofmerrows²¹

Age: 4| Weight: 9-5| J: C Lee| T: K Tutty| OR: 63

18/1

20-race maiden (0-15 on AW), finished 7L third to all the way winner Young John (Insurplus second) over C&D on his penultimate start.

Form: 990737

(11)

Etikaal^p⁵³

Age: 4| Weight: 9-5| J: J Garritty| T: Grant Tuer| OR: 63| D

40/1

Well below par since enjoying the run of the race and making all to score at Pontefract (6f, good to firm) in mid-summer; slipping down the weights and has some fair past AW (Polytrack) form; difficult to enthuse over.

Form: 000600

(1)

Grinty^b1²¹

Age: 4| Weight: 9-4| J: Callum Rodriguez| T: M Dods| OR: 62| D

10/1

Infrequent winner (1-18) who has shown all of his best form further down the NE coast at Redcar; better than the bare result on recent AW debut (hampered) but a shade disconcerting to see the blinkers now being applied.

Form: 3-07530

(14)

Somewhere Secret²⁷

Age: 4| Weight: 9-4| J: J P Fahy| T: M Mullineaux| OR: 62

20/1

Sole win came at Doncaster (5f, Class 4) in September 2017 but hasn't kept bad form on turf this summer by any means; remains largely unexposed on the AW (finished fifth to Harry George over 1m here latest).

Form: 255065

(3)

Rebel State^p²¹

Age: 5| Weight: 9-4| J: Owen Payton⁽⁷⁾| T: Jedd O'Keeffe| OR: 62

20/1

Stablemate of Collingham Park and Whitkirk; runner-up off this mark to the progressive Harry George on penultimate start (1m) but no obvious joy for this inexperienced rider last time.

Form: 627428

(5)

Angel's Acclaim^p²¹

Age: 4| Weight: 9-4| J: Cam Hardie| T: K A Ryan| OR: 62| BF| CD

9/1

Boasts C&D winning form (off this mark) and ran well when placed at this track in July; awkward at the start when beaten by plenty of these rivals (13th of 14) on recent return to action; capable of better; don't discount.

Form: 41-4030

(4)

Collingham Park^p1²¹

Age: 3| Weight: 9-4| J: G Lee| T: Jedd O'Keeffe| OR: 63

8/1

Stablemate of Rebel State and Whitkirk; in free-fall in the weights, dropping 12lb since April; still early days in terms of the AW (0-1) but must find some kind of positive momentum with cheekpieces now added.

Form: 579579

(13)

Mr Strutter¹⁸

Age: 4| Weight: 9-3| J: Andrew Breslin⁽⁵⁾| T: Ronald Thompson| OR: 61

7/1

Difficult to win with on the AW (0-14) and probably sharpest between 5f-6f; that said, gave the progressive Harry George a scare when beaten just a neck over C&D three starts back.

Form: 203275

(7)

Ninepin Bowler^p,h²⁷

Age: 4| Weight: 9-2| J: F Norton| T: Mrs A Duffield| OR: 60

9/1

Yet to strike; closest when beaten a neck by Kroy in a C&D Class 6 in mid-October; no obvious signs that wind surgery has led to a significant overall upturn in fortunes; place prospects, but no more.

Form: 666928

(6)

Whitkirk²⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 9-2| J: T Hamilton| T: Jedd O'Keeffe| OR: 60

20/1

Stablemate of Rebel State and Collingham Park; 1m winner off a 7lb higher mark at Thirsk in May (good to firm); 0-5 on the AW and must better his latest Class 6 (1m) sixth to Gilded Heaven.

Form: 067496

Non-Runners

(8)

Waitaki²³

Weight: 9-5| Age: 5

T: D A McLoughlin J: Non Runner

Forecasts

Insurplus (4/1), Waitaki (4/1), Mr Strutter (7/1), Collingham Park (8/1), Ubla (17/2), Angel's Acclaim (9/1), Ninepin Bowler (9/1), Gun Case (10/1), Grinty (10/1), Kingofmerrows (18/1), Somewhere Secret (20/1), Rebel State (20/1), Whitkirk (20/1), Etikaal (40/1)

A competitive albeit low-grade opener. Somewhere Secret wouldn't necessarily be the most obvious of selections, but he could play a positive role on just his second ever AW appearance if heading in the right direction after finishing fifth to Harry George (Rebel State second) over 1m here earlier this month. Angel's Acclaim is on her C&D winning mark and is much better than she demonstrated on her recent return to action, so wouldn't rate as a surprising winner. However, we'll opt for the Irish raider WAITAKI with Luke Morris an eye-catching booking for Dermot Anthony McLoughlin. Any strong and sustained market move would surely further enhance her chances.