11:40 Newcastle

Saturday 22 December 2018

All11:4012:1012:4513:2013:5514:3015:05

Best Odds Guaranteed At 188Bet Handicap Hurdle

Off time: 11:40 | Winning time: 4m 11.30s

Felix Mendelssohn^t²⁰

Age: 7| Weight: 12-0| J: Sam Coltherd⁽⁵⁾| T: W Coltherd| OR: 102

14/1

Remains a maiden over hurdles after eight attempts, seemingly unable to transfer his ability on the Flat (86-rated) to obstacles; easing in the weights and grade (into a Class 5).

Form: U65-059

Anguino³²²

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: J Kington| T: A Crook| OR: 100

50/1

Ex-Irish; a modest performer who has switched from Patrick Holmes to Andy Crook since his last appearance at Musselburgh (2m, soft) in February; doesn't make any significant appeal.

Form: P/605P0-

Green Zone¹²

Age: 7| Weight: 11-9| J: Ross Turner⁽⁷⁾| T: Miss L Harrison| OR: 97| D

11/1

Kept busy of late despite having a clear preference for decent summer ground at Perth (2m4f); far more reliable than many of his opponents, and if able to handle conditions isn't punitively handicapped.

Form: 432854

Bingo D'Olivate²³

Age: 7| Weight: 11-7| J: Steven Fox⁽⁵⁾| T: J Ewart| OR: 95| D

5/4

Had a spell in the doldrums for Gemma Anderson but exploited a free-falling handicap mark on debut for this Langholm-based trainer at Ayr (2m4f, heavy) 23 days ago; every chance of following up off just 4lb higher; shorter trip no major concern.

Form: 06FF6-1

Lastin' Memories^p⁹

Age: 6| Weight: 11-3| J: Jamie Hamilton| T: Miss S E Forster| OR: 91| C

7/2

Broke the maiden tag when landing a very similar contest (2m4f+, good to soft) at this track last week; 6lb higher in the weights and could cope with this drop back in trip (races prominently); chance.

Form: 262-481

Solway Lark¹⁷

Age: 7| Weight: 11-2| J: Callum Bewley| T: Miss L Harrison| OR: 90

50/1

Stablemate of Green Zone; ten-race maiden; strongest form came over 3m at Perth (in August) but virtually impossible to enthuse over any of his more recent efforts; look elsewhere.

Form: 7F0U59

Fiosrach^p⁷

Age: 8| Weight: 11-0| J: Henry Brooke| T: James Moffatt| OR: 88| D

25/1

His overall hurdles record isn't the most startling (1-25) and he's probably best at about this 2m trip on a sound racing surface; well beaten in a Class 6 AW handicap (1m4f) here last Saturday.

Form: 648-6U8

Hellavashock^p¹⁹

Age: 5| Weight: 10-9| J: Craig Nichol| T: A C Whillans| OR: 83

28/1

26-race maiden (0-5 over hurdles); produced a fairly reasonable run at Market Rasen (2m, good) earlier this month but truthfully will be living up to his name if returning in the winners enclosure.

Form: P/37P4

Copt Hill^b⁹

Age: 10| Weight: 10-4| J: Ross Chapman⁽³⁾| T: Julia Brooke| OR: 78| CD

9/2

Back in the winners enclosure for the first time since January 2013 when keeping on well to repel Lucarno Dancer by 1½L over C&D last week (third placed Choochoobugaloo found nil); 4lb higher; doubts as to whether or not he'll back up.

Form: 337451

Lady Samback^t¹⁰⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 10-4| J: R D Day| T: M A Barnes| OR: 78WS

22/1

Yet to remotely threaten to deliver the goods in six previous attempts over hurdles. However, she sits at the foot of the weights in a low-grade contest and should be monitored for any market support post wind surgery.

Form: 8456P4

Leonasisland^h²³

Age: 6| Weight: 10-0| J: C O'Farrell| T: W Coltherd| OR: 74

40/1

Five-race maiden under rules with no worthwhile form; impossible to consider despite being a brother to the 2m3f hurdle winner Crinkle Crags (Nicky Richards).

Form: P0-PP70

Cyrano Star^t²⁵

Age: 6| Weight: 10-0| J: A Nicol| T: A Crook| OR: 71

33/1

Stablemate of Anguino; 0-8 over hurdles, including when failing to complete on two of his last three starts; safely dismissed.

Form: U/00-P6P

Forecasts

Bingo D'Olivate (5/4), Lastin' Memories (7/2), Copt Hill (9/2), Green Zone (11/1), Felix Mendelssohn (14/1), Lady Samback (22/1), Fiosrach (25/1), Hellavashock (28/1), Cyrano Star (33/1), Leonasisland (40/1), Anguino (50/1), Solway Lark (50/1)

A bitterly disappointing opener for a Grade 1 jumps track on the Saturday immediately prior to Christmas. Copt Hill bounced back to form when taking a similar low-grade contest here last week, with Lastin' Memories breaking the maiden tag at the same Newcastle fixture but over a longer trip (2m4f). However, the much preferred option is the once mildly useful BINGO D'OLIVATE. He showed immediate improvement when scoring on his first start for James Ewart at Ayr (9/4f) and won't be at all inconvenienced by further rain.