14:25 Fontwell

Wednesday 26 December 2018

All12:1512:4513:1513:5014:2515:0015:35

Southern Cranes And Training Division Handicap Hurdle

Off time: 14:25 | Winning time: 4m 44.23s

Sussex Ranger^p²⁵

Age: 4| Weight: 11-12| J: J E Moore| T: G & J Moore| OR: 130| CD

7/2

Wide margin winner of juvenile hurdles here and at Sandown last year and capped those performances when second to We Have A Dream in a Chepstow Grade 1. Two performances this term raise serious doubts as to whether he retains that ability.

Form: 1127-90

Final Choice^p³⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 11-5| J: Rex Dingle⁽⁷⁾| T: A West| OR: 123

8/1

Landed a Flat jockeys hurdle at Lingfield on third start for this yard. Went down narrowly on the AW since. Conditions and wellbeing not an issue but the step up in class could prove a problem.

Form: 3617-81

Dancingwith Storms^h³⁷

Age: 4| Weight: 11-4| J: Harry Teal⁽⁷⁾| T: W Greatrex| OR: 122

14/1

Cost £65,000 after easily winning a Cork maiden hurdling on soft ground in May. Trainer has a good record here but hard to argue he is well-handicapped and his bumper form suggests any further rain could be an issue.

Form: 47-14

Ardmayle¹⁸

Age: 6| Weight: 11-2| J: Matt Griffiths| T: A Stronge| OR: 120

9/2

Beat a modest lot at Chepstow with ease in April and not disgraced in Listed company on his return from an eight month break. Handles testing ground and one of the more likely types in this.

Form: 47131-4

Faithful Mount^p¹⁸

Age: 9| Weight: 11-2| J: Edward Austin⁽⁷⁾| T: Ian Williams| OR: 120

6/1

Eight-time Flat winner who achieved a fair standard over hurdles in late 2016. Returned to form on the Flat during the autumn and this easier than his return to hurdling at Aintree. Attractively weighted and rider good value for his claim.

Form: 34F26/5

Itsonlyrocknroll^t³⁸

Age: 6| Weight: 11-0| J: M Goldstein| T: C Gordon| OR: 118

20/1

Best performances for Willie Mullins came from the front. Held up when failing to figure on stable debut and he has now been beaten by double figure margins in all seven starts over hurdles. Has a bit to find in this company.

Form: 2P3-604

Jaboticaba²⁰

Age: 4| Weight: 10-13| J: Brendan Powell| T: A King| OR: 117

10/1

French hurdles scorer got his head in front for the first time for these connections when beating World Premier at Hereford only to be disqualified and placed second. Had a hard race that day and seemed to be showing the effects last time.

Form: 26-35D0

World Premier²⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 10-12| J: R P McLernon| T: B Pauling| OR: 116

6/1

Faces Jaboticaba on the same terms as when awarded the verdict at Hereford last month. Appears to have come out of the race the better of the two judged on his latest run when making a crucial mistake as the pace lifted.

Form: 830-513

Monday Club³⁰

Age: 5| Weight: 10-11| J: Alan Doyle⁽⁷⁾| T: D J S Ffrench Davis| OR: 115

5/1

Record of 2-36 but continues to apply himself in this grade. Not as well-handicapped as some, but should give another good account provided conditions do not deteriorate further.

Form: 313322

Forecasts

Sussex Ranger (7/2), Ardmayle (9/2), Monday Club (5/1), World Premier (6/1), Faithful Mount (6/1), Final Choice (8/1), Jaboticaba (10/1), Dancingwith Storms (14/1), Itsonlyrocknroll (20/1)

WORLD PREMIER got the verdict at the expense of Jaboticaba on the stewards verdict at Hereford but improved on that at Leicester when looking unlucky in a race run at a muddling pace when he made a mistake at an unfortunate stage of the race. With conditions set to be testing, the weight he receives could be telling, particularly as dangers Faithful Mount, Monday Club, Final Choice and Dancingwith Storms do not want the ground to deteriorate further. Ardmayle will not be inconvenienced whatever the weather and will be a danger given likely improvement on his initial run of the campaign.