13:10 Sedgefield

Sunday 27 January 2019

All13:1013:4014:1014:4015:1015:4016:10

RaceBets Handicap Hurdle

Off time: 13:10 | Winning time: 4m 14.8s

Bobble Emerald^p,t⁴⁵⁷

Age: 11| Weight: 12-5| J: L P Aspell| T: M Keighley| OR: 122

20/1

Made all and galloped on very gamely to score at odds of 33/1 at Cheltenham (2m, good) in October 2017; off the track since and 2lb higher in the weights on his belated return; faces competition for the lead from Ninepointsixthree.

Form: 63/3711-

Ninepointsixthree^p,t1³²

Age: 9| Weight: 11-12| J: Jonathan England| T: S England| OR: 115| CD

3/1

Made all and travelled smoothly throughout when winning over C&D in early December (soft); now 9lb higher but has had valid excuses in defeat since (grade and trip); very much respected wearing a newly applied tongue-tie.

Form: 8P2184

Apterix¹⁵

Age: 9| Weight: 11-12| J: Danny Cook| T: B Ellison| OR: 115| CD

5/1

Has a decent record around Sedgefield (4,2,1,1,3,5,1,2,P) taking in bumpers, hurdling and chasing; finished lame here behind Ninepointsixthree on his penultimate start, but has made the frame at Wetherby since; couldn't be ruled out with confidence.

Form: 1233P3

Culmination²⁸

Age: 7| Weight: 11-12| J: B S Hughes| T: D McCain Jnr| OR: 115

5/1

Put firmly in his place when beaten 7L by Ninepointsixthree over C&D in early December (soft); 7lb better off today but difficult to envisage a reversal on the back of a tame effort at Haydock since; ideally requires more cut in the ground.

Form: 421/3-2P

Iolani¹⁵

Age: 7| Weight: 11-9| J: Sean Quinlan| T: Mrs Dianne Sayer| OR: 112| CD

18/1

Pulled up on his last visit to Sedgefield (2m4f) on Boxing Day yet can generally be relied upon to run a solid race at this track (2-6); slowly edging back down the weights, so could go well if the ground continues to dry out.

Form: 1140P4

Flowery^h¹⁷

Age: 7| Weight: 11-8| J: C O'Farrell| T: I Jardine| OR: 111| C

9/4

Clearly suited by the application of a hood and seeks the hat-trick following wins here (2m4f) and at Catterick (2m); now 11lb higher than when charting an errant path to beat the quirky Baratineur by a neck 17-days ago; player.

Form: 000R11

Travel Lightly^b¹⁷

Age: 4| Weight: 10-11| J: C R King| T: T D Easterby| OR: 111

11/1

Has made a solid transition from the Flat proving to be a consistent filly over hurdles (1-5); good/good to soft ground appears to suit her best; no disgrace whatsoever in finishing 4L third to Groveman at Catterick (2m) 17-days ago.

Form: 41523

Pc Dixon⁵

Age: 6| Weight: 10-10| J: Billy Garritty⁽⁷⁾| T: V Thompson| OR: 99

16/1

Hardly has the most compelling profile over hurdles (1-17) with just a heavy ground Hexham novice to his name; well beaten at Kelso on Tuesday (2m2f, good) and expected to struggle once more here.

Form: 43-2046

Forecasts

Flowery (9/4), Ninepointsixthree (3/1), Culmination (5/1), Apterix (5/1), Travel Lightly (11/1), Pc Dixon (16/1), Iolani (18/1), Bobble Emerald (20/1)

A difficult looking opener in which there'll be plenty of competition for the lead with both Bobbie Emerald and Ninepointsixthree known for their ability to force the pace. The latter got into a good rhythm when scoring over C&D in early December and is very much respected in the first time tongue-tie with valid excuses in defeat since. FLOWERY is clearly a shade quirky but seeks the hat-trick after scoring with more in hand than the official winning margin at Catterick, and although a subsequent 11lb rise in the weights will make life tougher, he gets the nod as the selection.