13:55 Sandown

Friday 7 December 2018

All12:5013:2013:5514:2515:0015:30

Direct Commercial Novices' Limited Handicap Chase

Off time: 13:55 | Winning time: 5m 30.6s

The Bottom Bar²⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 11-10| J: D A Jacob| T: N J Henderson| OR: 127| BF

11/2

127-rated hurdler who vainly chased home the 8L winner Eragon De Chanay on heavy ground (2m4f) here last month; could prove sharper for that seasonal reappearance; interesting to see how this stablemate of Turtle Wars handles the switch to fences.

Form: 221-232

Magoo^t²⁶⁵

Age: 6| Weight: 11-9| J: Bryony Frost| T: P F Nicholls| OR: 126

14/1

Backed up his French hurdles win for Yannick Fouin with an all out success on debut for Paul Nicholls at Fontwell (2m3f, heavy) in March; off since, but this half-brother to Sam Winner is a noteworthy chasing debutante.

Form: 1/1-

Warthog^t²³⁰

Age: 6| Weight: 11-8| J: David Noonan| T: D Pipe| OR: 125| BF

16/1

Winning Irish pointer who hasn't always appeared to have the heart for a battle since switched to David Pipe; beaten favourite when last seen in a 2m7f Bangor maiden hurdle; very risky on first rules outing over fences.

Form: 6/3P327-

Private Malone^v²⁵¹

Age: 9| Weight: 11-8| J: Aidan Coleman| T: Miss E C Lavelle| OR: 125| D

14/1

13-race maiden over fences (has won a PTP); probably has the ability to win a race eventually judged upon a couple of runner-up efforts at Taunton (2m7f) and Newbury (2m6f+), however, that's unlikely to be today on his seasonal reappearance.

Form: 254226-

Lithic²⁶

Age: 7| Weight: 11-6| J: James Bowen| T: J & A O'Neill| OR: 123

13/2

Fairly well suited by these Sandown fences, twice finishing runner-up over C&D with cut underfoot, including when beaten 1¼L by Springtown Lake last month; holds every chance in an open race despite a 3lb higher mark.

Form: F0-4442

Turtle Wars²⁷²

Age: 5| Weight: 11-5| J: N de Boinville| T: N J Henderson| OR: 122

4/1

Stablemate of The Bottom Bar; weakened late on when finishing fifth to Sam's Gunner in the Grade 3 novices' final here in March (2m4f, soft); off since, but remains a horse of potential now switched to a new discipline.

Form: 3/3915-

Kings Walk²⁶

Age: 7| Weight: 11-5| J: R M Power| T: C L Tizzard| OR: 122

5/1

€110,000 3yo who made his mark over hurdles achieving a career best when beating The Mighty Don by a neck at Kempton (2m5f, good) in February; finished third (behind The Bottom Bar) in a seasonal pipe-opener over hurdles; second chasing start.

Form: 63/314-3

Inaminna^p1³⁴

Age: 7| Weight: 11-3| J: Adrian Heskin| T: N P Mulholland| OR: 120

33/1

Point winner who fair bolted up in a 2m3f+ handicap hurdle at Chepstow in April, but paid the price to the handicapper for that success; out of his depth and far from proficient on recent Ascot rules chasing debut; cheekpieces applied.

Form: 3431-4P

Smuggler's Blues⁵⁰

Age: 6| Weight: 11-3| J: J J Burke| T: T R George| OR: 120

25/1

Point winner who was sold for £50,000 in April 2017; lightly raced over hurdles, and although steadily progressive looks to be fairly harshly treated with an official rating of 120; can find his level over fences (debut) but this looks tough.

Form: 71/643-8

Early Du Lemo³⁰

Age: 5| Weight: 11-2| J: J E Moore| T: G & J Moore| OR: 119

12/1

No match for the winner Sizing Granite at Newbury in March (2m, soft) and ended the season with a low-key performance; probably better than the bare result on his Chepstow chasing debut (2m), yet still requires plenty of further improvement.

Form: 133/25-0

Glen Rocco¹⁹

Age: 7| Weight: 11-1| J: L P Aspell| T: N J Gifford| OR: 118

15/2

Bounced back quickly from an unfortunate mishap on chasing debut when jumping well throughout and determinedly repelling Diplomate Sivola by ½L at Fontwell (2m5f+) latest; 13lb higher today, so that's the obvious snag.

Form: 1/653-U1

Pointed And Sharp^h²⁴

Age: 6| Weight: 10-12| J: M G Nolan| T: P Hobbs & J White| OR: 115

33/1

No win since a shock 40/1 victory at Worcester (2m novices' hurdle) in November 2017 and has plenty to prove in the stamina department based upon his more recent hurdling exploits; doesn't appear anywhere near strong enough on chasing debut.

Form: 632-548

Triggitas^h²⁴

Age: 8| Weight: 10-10| J: G Sheehan| T: P R Webber| OR: 113

66/1

Six-race maiden who was returning from a 16-month absence when finishing a not disgraced 30L fifth of nine to Forecast at Lingfield (2m3f+ handicap hurdle) 24-days ago; faces a far tougher assignment here on chasing debut.

Form: 478/32-5

Molly Carew²⁴²

Age: 6| Weight: 10-7| J: R T Dunne| T: N P Mulholland| OR: 110| BF| D

25/1

Stablemate of Inaminna; handled soft-ground well in a low-key novice campaign (hurdles) winning over 2m at Lingfield and 2m4f at Sedgefield; competes in a very challenging contest on her chasing and seasonal debut; unlikely.

Form: 323745-

Non-Runners

Oh Land Abloom¹²

Weight: 11-10| Age: 8

T: N B King J: Wayne Hutchinson

Secret Legacy²³

Weight: 11-4| Age: 7

T: Ian Williams J: T J O'Brien

Forecasts

Turtle Wars (4/1), Kings Walk (5/1), The Bottom Bar (11/2), Lithic (13/2), Glen Rocco (15/2), Early Du Lemo (12/1), Oh Land Abloom (14/1), Private Malone (14/1), Magoo (14/1), Warthog (16/1), Secret Legacy (16/1), Molly Carew (25/1), Smuggler's Blues (25/1), Pointed And Sharp (33/1), Inaminna (33/1), Triggitas (66/1)

An ultra-competitive novices' handicap chase in which a clear round could prove a challenge too negotiate with a number of chasing newcomers in the line-up. Undoubtedly there are various horses with more promising long-term futures than LITHIC but the Jonjo O'Neill-trained 7yo appears well suited by the characteristics of this particular track and could well defy a 3lb rise for a solid run behind Springtown Lake. Others worthy of consideration include the Henderson-duo Turtle Wars and The Bottom Bar, the Paul Nicholls-trained Magoo and the Colin Tizzard-trained Kings Walk.