19:45 Newcastle

Monday 1 April 2019

All17:4518:1518:4519:1519:4520:15

Betway Handicap

Off time: 19:48 | Winning time: 1m 11.09s

(11)

Athollblair Boy³²

Age: 6| Weight: 9-9| J: Faye McManoman⁽⁵⁾| T: N Tinkler| OR: 81| CD

5/1

Four-time C&D winner who continues to perform admirably well despite competing from challenging enough marks; beaten ½L by Equiano Springs over C&D on his penultimate start, and likely he'll be competitive with a repeat.

Form: 0-31323

(10)

Chookie Dunedin^h⁴²

Age: 4| Weight: 9-7| J: P Mulrennan| T: K Dalgleish| OR: 79| D

9/1

2lb higher than when winning at Chelmsford (5f) in December - Class 4; has won over this trip on turf; weakened to finish fifth, beaten 3½L by Equinao Springs over C&D latest, and appears to be held by Athollblair Boy accordingly.

Form: 4174-45

(5)

Martineo³⁴

Age: 4| Weight: 9-6| J: James Doyle| T: J Butler| OR: 78| D

7/4

Unbeaten on Tapeta with three wins at Wolverhampton (6f-1m); 5lb higher than when comfortably beating today's rival Lucky Lodge by 1¾L latest (7f); first ever run at Newcastle; the booking of James Doyle in the saddle is a major plus.

Form: 408-011

(12)

Classic Pursuit^v¹⁸

Age: 8| Weight: 9-5| J: D Nolan| T: Stef Keniry| OR: 77| D

100/1

Has continued to disappoint since winning over 5f at Southwell in December, often fluffing his lines from the starting gates; edging back down the weights on debut for Stef Keniry (formerly with Mick Appleby).

Form: 71-5759

(2)

Paddy Power¹⁵⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 9-5| J: Sean Davis⁽⁵⁾| T: R A Fahey| OR: 77| D

8/1

Beaten approximately 3L when finishing fourth to Quick Look in the Great St Wilfrid Consolation Race at Ripon (6f, good) in August; more modest since and now 7lb lower; runner-up on sole previous Newcastle start (5f) in April 2017.

Form: 040000-

(3)

Manshood^b¹⁰⁴

Age: 6| Weight: 9-4| J: P J McDonald| T: P T Midgley| OR: 76| C| D

14/1

Capable sprinter; 4lb higher than when beating Wiff Waff by a comfortable ¾L over 5f (Class 5) here in November; no issues with tonight's longer trip; the booking of P J McDonald in the saddle can only be viewed as a positive.

Form: 509913-

(1)

Choice Encounter⁵

Age: 4| Weight: 9-4| J: D Tudhope| T: A Watson| OR: 76| D

8/1

Narrow winner off a similar mark at Kempton (6f) in January and has held his form relatively well since; runner-up on both previous starts at Newcastle (5f) when in the care of Michael Bell.

Form: 114754

(13)

Inaam^h⁵⁸

Age: 6| Weight: 9-3| J: K T O'Neill| T: J Butler| OR: 75| C

16/1

6-31 on the AW; has plenty of previous Newcastle experience (7f-1m) from his days with Richard Fahey; in fine fettle for Paul D'Arcy/John Butler of late, beaten just 1L off a 1lb lower mark at Lingfield (6f) latest.

Form: 0064-12

(6)

Inviolable Spirit¹⁵³

Age: 4| Weight: 8-12| J: P Hanagan| T: R A Fahey| OR: 70

10/1

Hasn't done a great deal of racing on the AW (0-3), but did finish a close third to Island Sound over 7f here in June; now 5lb lower in the weights after ending the 2018 turf season out of form; stablemate of Paddy Power.

Form: 269566-

(7)

Epeius^v³¹

Age: 6| Weight: 8-12| J: A Mullen| T: B Haslam| OR: 70| BF| CD

14/1

Like so many of his stablemates, he has thrived at Newcastle and is a three-time C&D winner (Class 5 and below); 3lb above his last winning mark - beat today's rival Lucky Lodge by a neck; will surely appreciate stepping back up from 5f.

Form: 27-3115

(14)

Lucky Lodge^v¹⁰

Age: 9| Weight: 8-12| J: Kieran Schofield⁽⁷⁾| T: A Brittain| OR: 70| CD

14/1

8lb higher than when beating today's rival Epeius by ½L over C&D in November; has clashed with that rival on revised terms since (placings reversed); beaten in a C&D claimer latest and now partnered by a 7lb claimer, which somewhat tells the tale.

Form: 2-63224

(8)

Mutabaahy^h²⁰

Age: 4| Weight: 8-11| J: Cam Hardie| T: A Brittain| OR: 69| D

12/1

Not at his best so far in 2019 but encouragingly returns to Newcastle for the first time since October 2018 (C&D form figures read; 2,2,3); fairly attractively handicapped from a mark of 69; preferred to stablemate Lucky Lodge.

Form: 623-968

(4)

Dirchill^b³²

Age: 5| Weight: 8-11| J: C Lee| T: D Thompson| OR: 69| D

28/1

Still a maiden on the AW (0-9), but has run some fairly respectable races at this track - mainly over 7f; 3lb lower than when beaten just over 6L by Chosen World and Porrima in February; will pop up eventually (not tonight).

Form: 3-36736

(9)

Duke Cosimo¹⁰

Age: 9| Weight: 8-9| J: Phil Dennis| T: M Herrington| OR: 67| CD

11/1

Veteran who continues to hold his form exceptionally well; no match for the talented Alsvinder in a 6f claimer here recently; will almost certainly appreciate the return to handicapping; foolish to dismiss lightly, albeit others are preferred.

Form: 7-26172

Result Amended

Choice Encounter - Original Position 5th. Amended Position 4th.

Dirchill - Original Position 4th. Amended Position 5th.

Forecasts

Martineo (7/4), Athollblair Boy (5/1), Choice Encounter (8/1), Paddy Power (8/1), Chookie Dunedin (9/1), Inviolable Spirit (10/1), Duke Cosimo (11/1), Mutabaahy (12/1), Lucky Lodge (14/1), Manshood (14/1), Epeius (14/1), Inaam (16/1), Dirchill (28/1), Classic Pursuit (100/1)

A devilishly tricky-looking sprint handicap in which you'd be reluctant to confidently dismiss any of the fourteen declared runners. Martineo is unbeaten on Tapeta at Wolverhampton (3-3) and should run a solid race with James Doyle in the saddle, although he is unlikely to offer any value at the projected odds. Others to consider include the course specialists Athollblair Boy and Epeius, as well as the back in-form Inaam. However, at more significant odds a couple against the field are Manshood and MUTABAAHY, with the latter-named returning to Gosforth Park off a fairly attractive mark (69) as the definite pick of the Anthony Brittain-trained duo.