Ladbrokes Nursery

Off time: 15:57 | Winning time: 1m 39.8s

(2)

Xtara³⁴

Age: 2| Weight: 9-11| J: Barry McHugh| T: Adrian Nicholls| OR: 76

13/2

Consistent on turf (6f-7f) during a three month period over the summer, including when making all to win at Carlisle (6f) in June; benefit of a recent run helpful; upped to 1m (half-brother to the 1m2f winner Azamanta).

Form: 312357

(6)

Battle Of Wills²⁵

Age: 2| Weight: 9-7| J: Callum Rodriguez| T: J Tate| OR: 72

8/11

22,000gns yearling who has shown clear promise in maiden and novice events, most notably for this rider at Wolverhampton (1m+) last month; an opening handicap mark of 72 looks to be relatively fair.

Form: 754

(5)

Curfewed¹⁴¹

Age: 2| Weight: 9-7| J: Cam Hardie| T: Miss Tracy Waggott| OR: 72

66/1

Bitterly disappointing when last in competitive action at Yarmouth (7f) in July; has since left Mick Channon for £5,000, but as a son of a 1m winning dam (Evening Sunset), is probably worth trying over this longer trip.

Form: 7730

(3)

Love Kisses^b1³²

Age: 2| Weight: 9-5| J: P J McDonald| T: C & M Johnston| OR: 70| BF

4/1

Six-race maiden who is now fitted with blinkers; seemingly handles synthetic surfaces and the pick of his better efforts give him some kind of chance at the very least.

Form: 838536

(1)

Lethal Guest⁶³

Age: 2| Weight: 9-3| J: Ben Robinson⁽³⁾| T: Ollie Pears| OR: 68

7/1

Former stablemate of Curfewed; left Mick Channon for £8,000 in October after a very tame effort at Nottingham (1m+, soft); handicap mark on the slide and new trainer Ollie Pears has his string in excellent form.

Form: 545200

(4)

Um Shama²⁵

Age: 2| Weight: 8-10| J: Josephine Gordon| T: D Loughnane| OR: 61| D

16/1

Winner of 1m Lingfield seller for Richard Hughes last month (3/1f), this half-sister to five winners including Wefait (1m2f+) is now in the care of David Loughnane.

Form: 359581

Forecasts

Battle Of Wills (8/11), Love Kisses (4/1), Xtara (13/2), Lethal Guest (7/1), Um Shama (16/1), Curfewed (66/1)

A largely low-key affair, so the horse with potential improvement in the locker is the handicap debutante BATTLE OF WILLS. His opening mark of 72 looks to be relatively far, especially in the context of today's rather limited opposition, so he can be expected to take a great deal of beating. Based upon form alone the likeliest danger is Um Shama, although the fine recent run of Ollie Pears should be considered in assessing the chances of Lethal Guest.