13:20 Newcastle

Saturday 22 December 2018

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

Happy 60th Birthday Simon Pearce Handicap Chase

Off time: 13:21 | Winning time: 5m 20.10s

Rock On Fruity²⁹

Age: 9| Weight: 11-12| J: Alain Cawley| T: B Haslam| OR: 125

40/1

Rather lost his way over fences in Ireland after winning a couple for Charles Byrnes (2m5f+ to 3m1f); fairly low-key on debut for Ben Haslam at Catterick 29 days ago, but eased 2lb in the weights since; soft ground is fine.

Form: 2U-PU57

Plus Jamais^p²³

Age: 11| Weight: 11-12| J: Ross Chapman⁽³⁾| T: I Jardine| OR: 125| CD

8/1

Traditionally very strong at Newcastle (2111U), but form figures of PUP since winning well off a 3lb lower mark over C&D in February (heavy) are slightly off-putting; possibly needed his seasonal reappearance run (over hurdles); player.

Form: 161PU-P

Gold Opera^v²⁵¹

Age: 9| Weight: 11-12| J: Callum Bewley| T: K Dalgleish| OR: 125| CD

5/2

At his best when encountering soft-ground over fences (2m4f); course form figures read 1151; 8lb higher than when driven clear to beat Asking Questions by 8L on virtually unraceable ground in April; left N.Alexander for £15,000 the following month.

Form: 4P55P1-

Some Reign¹⁴

Age: 7| Weight: 11-12| J: C O'Farrell| T: R Dobbin| OR: 125

5/1

Useful hurdler who remains largely unexposed over fences (0-3); the major concern is his temperament which was again on display at Wetherby (refused to race) a fortnight ago; risky proposition at present.

Form: R33-42R

Chidswell⁴⁹

Age: 9| Weight: 11-12| J: Craig Nichol| T: N G Richards| OR: 125| C| D

5/2

Reliable enough and competitive off this mark (runner-up in this race in 2017), but fencing is often his achilles heel. A force to be reckoned with when he puts everything together but has a tendency to be rather cumbersome more often than not.

Form: 2333P-5

Morning Royalty^t³⁸

Age: 11| Weight: 11-7| J: Henry Brooke| T: James Moffatt| OR: 120

18/1

Four-time chase winner (from 23 starts); now in his advancing years and eased 5lb in the handicap since a rather tame reappearance run (finished seventh of eight) over 3m at Ayr last month; others stronger.

Form: 43-4557

Newberry New^p²⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 11-0| J: Danny Cook| T: H Bethell| OR: 113| D

5/1

Just 2lb above his last winning mark (2m3f+ Wetherby, soft) but struggled from mid-race over an extended 3m2f at Uttoxeter 27 days ago; both the drop in trip and the benefit of a run are positives, so couldn't be dismissed.

Form: 11323-6

Charlie Snow Angel^p1¹²

Age: 9| Weight: 10-0| J: Jamie Hamilton| T: Miss S E Forster| OR: 96| C

22/1

Past course winner (over 2m); inexplicably in the doldrums since winning at Kelso (2m1f, heavy) in April, which has led to the application of cheekpieces; more than a shade risky at present from a few pounds out of the handicap.

Form: P31-P55

Forecasts

Gold Opera (5/2), Chidswell (5/2), Some Reign (5/1), Newberry New (5/1), Plus Jamais (8/1), Morning Royalty (18/1), Charlie Snow Angel (22/1), Rock On Fruity (40/1)

No standout contender in an open race with the capable Some Reign slowly becoming somewhat of an enigma. Chidswell isn't the most fluent of fencers, but ran well in this race in 2017 whilst Newberry New should strip fitter for competing at Uttoxeter. However, the pair who remain the most interesting are the course specialists Plus Jamais and GOLD OPERA. The selection is two years the junior of the Iain Jardine-trained runner and that's enough to sway the vote. Keith Dalgleish takes charge of Gold Opera for the first time and despite an 8lb rise for an 8L C&D win on desperate ground in April, he's taken to record a fourth Newcastle win.