12:50 Hexham

Wednesday 12 December 2018

All12:2012:5013:2013:5014:2014:5015:20

Seasons Greetings From Hexham Bookmakers Handicap Chase

Off time: 12:50 | Winning time: 5m 26.90s

Well Above Par³⁷⁵

Age: 6| Weight: 12-3| J: Thomas Willmott⁽⁷⁾| T: Miss Lucinda V Russell| OR: 107

9/2

Slightly disappointing since a solid opening rules fencing debut at Perth (2m, heavy) in September but chasing should be his forte and this isn't the deepest of races; contender.

Form: 623/2F6-

Rossmore's Pride^v1¹²⁷

Age: 10| Weight: 11-12| J: C O'Farrell| T: R Menzies| OR: 102

7/1

1-9 over hurdles in Ireland for C. Delcros (2m3f winner on heavy ground); probably worth drawing a line through his previous chasing form (outclassed) with the proviso that Rebecca Menzies has undertaken additional work on his jumping; visored.

Form: 561-588

Royal Salute¹⁵

Age: 8| Weight: 11-12| J: Jonathon Bewley⁽³⁾| T: G Bewley| OR: 102

9/1

His recent form figures aren't overly inspiring but equally don't tell the full tale; 12lb lower than when scoring for Anthony Honeyball at Plumpton (3m1f+) in January 2017; promises to be reasonably competitive if his suspect jumping holds out.

Form: PP4P-5F

Hattons Hill^p³³

Age: 9| Weight: 11-10| J: Jamie Hamilton| T: H Hogarth| OR: 100| C

11/2

A regular in these parts but out of sorts since winning five on the bounce in early 2017 (all over 3m, good to heavy); handicap mark on the slide and could benefit for his seasonal reappearance; shouldn't be discounted dropped back in trip.

Form: 11PPP-4

Paddling²³

Age: 7| Weight: 11-2| J: Alain Cawley| T: Micky Hammond| OR: 92

7/2

Dropped 3lb in the weights following a modest run at Hereford (2m, good) last month and now 9lb lower than when last competing over this kind of trip earlier in the year; a revival in fortunes is required.

Form: 2342-35

Notonebuttwo³⁴

Age: 11| Weight: 10-7| J: K Yeoman⁽¹⁰⁾| T: J Parkinson & S Smith| OR: 83| CD

9/2

Not the most predictable of horses but is perfectly capable on his day and showed some improved form when first switched to Sue Smith, namely over C&D in October (good); far less convincing since; others preferred.

Form: 43-F24P

Court Painter^p⁹

Age: 8| Weight: 10-3| J: C J Todd⁽⁷⁾| T: V Thompson| OR: 79| D

40/1

Has limited form which would give him an outside shout, including his May C&D second to Bafana Blue (good); should benefit for a recent run (Musselburgh) but very difficult to escape the bare statistics (0-18 under rules).

Form: 964268

Silverton²⁷²

Age: 11| Weight: 10-2| J: Grant Cockburn⁽³⁾| T: Mrs L B Normile| OR: 78| D

10/1

Career record is 1-27, that success coming in 2015 in an Ayr handicap chase (2m5½f, heavy) from 16lb higher. Well below that level of form in recent years, but improved efforts late last season, including in a narrow C&D defeat.

Form: P4P/932-

Knocklayde^p³²

Age: 6| Weight: 10-0| J: S Mulqueen⁽³⁾| T: K Scott| OR: 65| C

22/1

Sole win came in a three-runner bumper here April 2016 (heavy) and has looked to be very raw and inexperienced over fences (0-2) so far; holds little conceivable chance from out of the handicap proper.

Form: P6-0855

Forecasts

Paddling (7/2), Well Above Par (9/2), Notonebuttwo (9/2), Hattons Hill (11/2), Rossmore's Pride (7/1), Royal Salute (9/1), Silverton (10/1), Knocklayde (22/1), Court Painter (40/1)

No strong opinion is offered in a very winnable looking contest. A number of the runners would hold relatively solid claims based on the pick of some of their better efforts, including Hattons Hill and Silverton whilst the inexperienced Well Above Par should prove capable of winning races over fences for Lucinda Russell. Jumping is the achilles heel of the selection ROYAL SALUTE but if able to negotiate a safe passage, he's almost certainly well-treated from a mark of 102 based upon his earlier form for Anthony Honeyball, with the Bewley family no strangers to the Hexham winners enclosure.